Golden Moments
by MissCHSparkles
Summary: A series of short stories that star the Golden Trio. In the first chapter, how would things have been different if Ron and Hermione went into the Chamber of Secrets with Harry? Read on to find out, rated M to be safe for future stories.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note. These are just a series of one shots that star the Golden Trio in some way. Some of the stories will have been inspired by other stories, others are my own idea. This isn't a Hermione/Harry shipping, I just put them as characters as sadly you can only put too. But Ron will be involved a lot, don't worry._

_This chapter has been inspired by the works of Snapegirlkmf. _

_Ethelinda is a Medieval girl's name that means noble snake. _

_Suggestions are welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

"There, she should be alright now,"

Harry and Ron watched anxiously as Professor Snape finished administering to their friend, Hermione. Earlier, she and another student had been attacked, except Hermione hadn't been petrified. She'd been found unconscious with signs of having been cursed.

Not only that but she had a few cracked ribs and bruises as though some powerful force had seized her and threw her about. Harry and Ron had been horrified to find out that their friend had been attacked and in such a horrible way.

The damage had been so bad that Professor Snape had been recruited to give her some of his best healing potions. And although he still looked sour, he also had a serious air about him that told the two boys that he cared what happened to her. He was a true teacher who did care about the welfare of his students even if he'd never openly admit it.

He cast a baleful look in their direction before turning back to Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. His tone was deadly serious as he said.

"She'll need to be carefully monitored, we're dealing with something unknown here."

"You detected Dark Magic?" Professor McGonagall questioned and he nodded.

"But I've never seen anything like it, therefore I can't be sure there won't be side effects. Whoever did this was extremely powerful."

"This is terrible," Madam Pomfrey mumbled, wringing her hands slightly.

"The students are meant to be safe here but we can't even defend them against this."

"All we can do is be vigilant," Snape said gravely before swishing round to face the two boys.

"What are you two still doing here?" he asked sharply.

"Now Severus, their concerned about their friend," McGonagall replied him gently before looking Straight at them.

"Boys, I'll escort you back to Gryffindor Tower in a short while, please wait quietly."

"Yes Professor," the intoned and she turned back to her colleagues to discuss the situation.

"I can't believe this," Ron said, his skin paling than normal.

"Who could have done this to Hermione?"

"I don't know," Harry said heavily.

"But we're going to find out somehow."

Ron didn't look very sure about this so Harry pressed on.

"At least we know it isn't Malfoy, he's nowhere near powerful enough to have done something like this."

"Yeah," Ron said softly. "But at the moment, we don't have any suspects."

"Something will turn up," Harry said with more confidence then he felt.

"It always does."

Eventually the adults finished talking and the two young boys were taken back to their Common Room. For the next few days, they were miserable, missing their clever friend and wishing they knew what had happened to her. And sadly, things in general weren't going well at all.

Everyone was just so tense, it was difficult to have any fun at all. It didn't help that the teachers were having a hard time trying to hide how stressed they were. Harry and Ron had to be on their best behaviour in Potions class as Snape looked ready to rip into anyone who caused bother.

McGonagall was as usual pushing them hard but even more laidback teachers like Flitwick and Sprout were doing the same. Gilderoy Lockhart was just as useless as ever which was a real shame as this was the class everyone wanted to learn. Especailly since Hermione had been cursed, that gave students the impression there was a chance they could fight back should they ever encounter the one who had done it to her.

It didn't help they didn't even have Quidditch to distract them, it was considered just too risky. The only good thing about Hogwarts right now was they could still visit Hagrid, as long as it was either the middle of the day at the weekends, or just after dinner during the week.

They'd send him a note with Hedwig and he'd be waiting to escort them from the Great Hall to his hut. Poor Hagrid was very depressed about something and at first they thought he was just worried about what was going on at the school.

But they soon learned it was something else.

A few weeks later

"Follow the damn spiders," Ron was cursing as he finished throwing up.

"What are Hagrid thinking?"

"He didn't think they'd harm us," Harry said softly, feeling worn out both emotionally and physically.

"Yeah well, got that wrong didn't he," Ron said harshly but Harry knew he was just so stressed at the moment, he had to let off some steam by ranting.

Harry didn't really have any phobias that he knew of anyway but Ron had just faced his worst fear, magnified by about a hundred times. And Harry had to admit he'd probably never see a spider the same way after this night.

"At least we learned one thing," Harry said quietly, thinking of that scene in the diary he'd seen.

"Hagrid was innocent and the real Heir is still out there."

"Yeah," Ron said shakily, now searching Hagrid's larder, hoping to find something that would calm his nerves.

As he grabbed a bottle of what looked like Butterbear, he suddenly thought of something.

"But still, whoever it was back then, it can't be the same person," he said slowly as his shaking hands uncorked the unopened bottle and took a big swig.

"I mean, it really sounds like it was a student back then so...it must be a student now."

"Unless they've become a teacher," Harry couldn't help but point out as Ron offered him the bottle and he took it.

They both stared at each other for a moment.

"I don't think so," Ron finally said. "I don't see any of them, well maybe Snape but he's way too young to have been a student back then. I mean, even Malfoy said it was before his father's time."

"Maybe it's someone's grandchild," Harry reasoned and Ron looked thoughtful at this.

"Could be," he said slowly as Harry gave him back the bottle.

"But...why now?"

That was a question Harry couldn't answer. After settling Fang in his basket, they headed back to the school and their Common Rooms. Once there, they collapsed, fully dressed and slept nearly twelve hours.

Consequently, they were late to breakfast and were among the last finishing. Ron was eating more than usual, mostly the sugary things and Harry knew he was still affected by what had happened.

Sadly, he wasn't the only one to notice.

"Weasley, you're manners are atrocious," a biting voice snapped right behind them.

The two jumped and turned in their seats to see Snape glowering at them. Ron's mouth was full so he could only mumble and gesture but Snape wasn't looking at him. He was staring at Harry's face with narrowed eyes and Harry suddenly felt very nervous.

It didn't help when Snape's hand shot out to grasp his chin so he could examine his face more closely.

"Late for breakfast, despite Weasley's obvious appetite," he drawled as Harry squirmed in his seat.

"Dark rings around your eyes, pale skin, heavy lids," he continued, his eyes becoming angrier as he continued.

"You two have been sneaking around the castle after hours."

"We haven't...," Harry began with that half truth, it hadn't been the castle they'd been sneaking around.

"Do not lie to me," Snape hissed, bringing his whole body closer in a very intimidating way.

And frankly, it was working.

"I'm not...," Harry mumbled as Ron finally swallowed all of his food.

"Have you any idea just how stupid that is?" Snape demanded, now including Ron in his ferocious glare.

"I would have thought that after Miss Granger you might have developed a_ minuet _amount of sense in those _thick_ skulls but it seems I was being far too optimistic."

The two boys were now blushing bright red at the scolding their professor was giving them, they knew they did deserve it.

"There is a killer roaming these halls," Snape now continued harshly. "One that has so far put several students in the Hospital Wing and it is pure _chance_ none of them are dead, especially Miss Granger."

"Do you understand?" he hissed, letting go of Harry's chin but his glare was enough to pierce Harry's very being.

"Y-yes sir," the both stammered, wishing they were anywhere but here.

Snape now stood eying them distastefully.

"I think a few days helping in my lab would do you some good," he drawled and they struggled not to groan.

"Let's see if you have any energy for night time wondering after that."

He was about to turn when something occurred to him.

"And for the record," he said silkily.

"If not for the fact that corporal punishment is banned here at Hogwarts, I would take you both over my knee and you would both be two very sorry little boys."

And with this last, ominous warning, he turned on his heel with a swish of black robes and stalked away. He left in his wake, two trembling boys who had taken his threat very seriously.

"Remind me never to let Snape catch us," Ron whispered even when Snape was well out of earshot.

"Only if you remind me," Harry said quietly back, he couldn't believe what Snape had just said to them.

Though a small part of him was touched that Snape cared about their safety, it was still shocking that a teacher had just implied he would like nothing better than to spank them. This made Harry pray that the corporal punishment rule was never reintroduced.

Snape was right about one things, after about a week of doing chores for him, they were too tired to even think about rule breaking let alone do any. While the students thought he was being evil, the teachers seemed to think he was doing it to keep their minds of their friend. And in all fairness, doing something physical that was safe did take their minds off everything.

Nevertheless, they were very thankful when Snape decided they had done enough and finally released them from their duty. Nothing new had occurred while they'd been working, things were still bad though they'd been no new attacks.

So the boys settled back into their previous routine, except there was no Hagrid to visit. They did try to visit Hermione as much as possible, thankful that she only looked like she was sleeping rather than a statue.

It was during one of these visits that Harry was mulling over all the information that they had so far. A strange voice that only he could hear, a seemingly invisible monster that petrified its victims and one that spiders feared? What did it all mean?

There was something else, some clue that he was missing. But he couldn't think what it was.

Some more time past and they were getting closer and closer to the exams. Ron's little sister Ginny seemed very pale and shaky but at the same time, looking better than she had about a month before.

Harry hadn't forgotten about the diary he'd found but saw no need to speak with the person who dwelled within. After all, Tom Riddle hadn't a clue who the Heir was and Harry doubted he could give them any new information. So, the diary remained locked in his trunk, under a couple of spare clothes.

But finally, as they neared the end of the school year, there was some good news. Professor McGonagall announced that the Mandrake leaves would soon be mature enough for Snape to brew a potion that would cure everyone that had been petrified. But what was even better was that Hermione was showing signs of waking up.

Harry and Ron were naturally very excited about this and they spent their spare time making some little gifts for her, including an enchanted card, a little box that had her name on it and Gryffindor colours that she could keep her favourite Sugar Quills and some nice notepads.

They both felt they needed their friend to help finally solve the mystery of the Chamber of secrets and couldn't wait until she was awake. Ron said he wouldn't even care if she nagged him about homework, he just wanted his friend back.

Another reason they made all those gifts was to cheer her up when she realised exams were still going ahead and she hadn't had a chance to study. Though they were pretty sure she'd be excused like the others, they also knew she wouldn't accept this very easily.

At long last, the day came when Professor McGonagall came to the Common Room and informed them that Hermione was awake and asked if they would like to see her. Their replies were so enthusiastic, that she smiled despite of herself and bade them follow her.

By the time they got there, Madam Pomfrey had finished fussing over the sleepy eyed girl and allowed the two boys close. Hermione's face let up when she saw they and she eagerly accepted their hugs though the Medi Witch warned them to be careful.

After that, they sat down on chairs and presented their friend with her gifts.

"Oh these are so lovely," Hermione exclaimed, making the boys, especially Ron swell with pride.

"Sugar Quills," she said in delight, she loved sucking them when she was working on a difficult piece of homework.

"I thought of those," Ron was quick to point out and she gave him a winning smile.

"Thank you Ron, that was very thoughtful," she said happily before asking.

"So, has anything happened while I've been...indisposed?"

They told her everything they knew, while making sure no one else overheard. At the end of it, Hermione was looking very thoughtful.

"You know, it's funny but something you've said rings a bell...," she said very slowly and the boys looked eager.

"Hermione, do you remember being attacked?" Harry asked softly.

"No, I'm sorry," Hermione said unhappily. "That's what Professor McGonagall and Snape wanted to know but I honestly can't. I can't even remember why I was in that corridor to begin with, especially as you had a Quidditch Match."

"You said you had to go to the library," Harry said, remembering that day.

"Hermione, I think you found something, something to do with the Chamber and that's why you were attacked."

"They must have heard you in the Great Hall," Ron said, paling.

"And anyone who knows you, knows that when you go to the library, it's because you've realised something."

Hermione paled at that as well so Harry quickly said.

"Don't worry, this time, we won't let you out of our sight, no one's going to get their hands on you."

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"No problem," Harry said with a smile.

Hermione was kept there a little longer for observation but eventually Madam Pomfrey let her go. She still couldn't remember what had happened, though the teachers bade her to come if she ever did. She promised but sadly her mind was a blank.

She was optimistic, as she told the boys, she felt all she needed was a little nudge in the right direction and she'd remember.

But nothing happened until the day Professor McGonagall finally announced that the Mandrake leaves were ready and Professor Snape was in the process of brewing the potion. It was be ready by evening and this news made everyone cheer. Even some of the Slytherins looked happy though some like Malfoy didn't.

The trio went to their classes very happy, this was fantastic news. Even Snape's glowering couldn't dampen their spirits at that moment. He had them do a relatively simple potion which mostly involved putting ingredients in at precisely the right time. But something happened in that class which changed everything.

"The venom is highly potent so be sure not to spill even a single drop onto your bare skin," Snape was saying, explaining what happened if it got into their blood stream.

"Do not waste any of it either, this particular kind is not easy to get, unless of course you happen to be a Parseltongue," he finished as an afterthought, shooting Harry a smirk.

This made Harry wonder if he could get potion ingredients that others had trouble getting. But Hermione on the other hand was frozen in her seat, her mouth open in shock. Ron, surprisingly, was the first to notice.

"Hermione, you alright?" he asked with a frown.

"I...yes," she said dazedly.

"I'll explain after class," she added, shaking herself out of her revelry so she could concentrate on the task at hand.

Harry and Ron gave her curious looks but knew it was better to wait until after class. Thankfully, it was lunch time so they were escorted to the Great Hall and after Snape had left them, Hermione dragged them aside.

"Harry, I just remembered something, I know why I went to the library that day."

"Why?" Harry asked urgently and she quickly explained that she realised that the voice Harry had been hearing all year had to be a snake.

"So I looked up possible candidates and this is what I found out," Hermione said grimly as she explained all about Basilisks. How spiders fled before them, how they could live for hundreds of years and, most importantly, how they killed.

"They kill with their stare," she explained. "But everyone who was attacked never looked at them directly."

"Creevey with his camera," Ron nearly yelled in his excitement.

"Justin saw through Nick but Nick couldn't be killed a second time," Harry said, getting into the rhythm of it.

"What about Mrs Norris?" Ron questioned and Harry reminded him about how there had been so much water.

"And I must have warned that perfect not to go away without a mirror," Hermione finished though she did look a bit confused about something.

"So why wasn't I petrified?"

"I think I know," Harry said grimly. "It was the perfect who looked round that corner and you...probably closed your eyes or something, so it whacked you, trying o get you to open them."

"That's why I had those cracked ribs," Hermione said softly before saying in a slightly frightened voice.

"But it wasn't just the Basilisk there, someone else was there and they cursed me..."

"When you wouldn't let yourself get petrified," Harry said, feeling hot anger course trhough his body at the way his friend had been treated.

"They wouldn't let the snake bite you because then it would have been obvious what was attacking everyone."

"But hang on," Ron now said. "We're talking about a filthy great snake, how the hell has it been sneaking around with no one seeing it?"

"Pipes," Hermione said grimly. "And that's why Harry's been hearing it in the walls. And it's possible to get into or out of those pipes in certain areas of the school."

"Bloody hell," Ron said, running a hand through his hair.

Suddenly, Harry got one of the biggest brainwaves ever.

"Aragog said the girl died in a bathroom," he said slowly. "You don't think it's..."

"Moaning Myrtle," they all cried at once, causing several people to look at them oddly.

"Come on, we have to go talk to her," Harry said as Ron cast a longing look into the Great Hall as some students came out, including his little sister Ginny.

"We'll get lunch later Ron," Hermione said impatiently, waiting to solve this mystery once and for all.

"Okay," he said grumpily as Ginny past.

"Hey, maybe we call tell that prat Tom Riddle he got it completely wrong."

"Yes, I'm sure we can," Hermione said offhandedly, not noticing how Ginny froze.

The three of them rushed through the corridors, utterly intent on their mission. Thankfully, everyone was at dinner so no one saw them and they reached the bathroom without difficulty. As soon as they were there, Harry called.

"Myrtle!"

"What do you want?" the gloomy ghost asked, rising from behind a stall.

"To ask you how you died?" Harry said simply.

"Really?" Myrtle squealed as though no one had ever asked her such a flattering question.

And Harry had a feeling no one ever had.

"Oh, it was so dreadful," Myrtle said with relish. "I remember it so well."

And she went on to talk about how another girl had been teasing her so she hid in here. And how she'd heard a boy, speaking in another language and she opened the door to tell him to go away.

"And then," Myrtle said dramatically. "I died."

"Um, how?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know," Myrtle said with a shrug.

"All I remember is a pair of great glowing yellow eyes."

She jerked her head in the direction of the ring of sinks.

"Over there."

The three went over, examining the sinks closely. Finally, Ron said.

"Here, look at this."

One sink had a serpent engraved upon it, none of the others had.

"That sink's never worked," Myrtle said cheerfully, she was in a better mood than they'd ever seen her.

"Wonder how it opens?" Ron now said to which Hermione said.

"I think only a Parseltongue can."

"Let's try it," Harry said, staring at the snake and trying to imagine it was real.

"_Open up."_

There was a kiss as the snakes eyes glowed red before the sinks separated and rose into the air. The trio jumped back as this happened, watching as the sinks disappeared to reveal a huge, black hole.

"Wow," was all Ron could say as they edged closer to stare down it.

"Looks like a slide," Harry said, seeing the angle wasn't a straight one.

"This must connect to all sorts of other pipes," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"It's the perfect place to stash a huge snake."

"But how does it survive?" Ron asked aloud.

"How should I know?" Myrtle said loudly behind him and he jumped.

Unfortunately, this caused him to slip on some slimy water on the floor and he plunged straight down the hole before his friends could stop him.

"Ron," Hermione cried as his yell of surprise died away.

"Come on," Harry said, taking Hermione's hand and they took jumped in after Ron.

They whizzed down a slide with levelled out a few downs before plunging straight down. After turning a sharp corner, they collided with a soft form who turned out to be Ron.

"You're alright," Hermione cried, flinging her arms around him, even though he was a bit slimy.

"Yeah, was actually kinda fun," Ron said, nervously hugging her back as Harry looked around the place they had landed.

It was the beginning of a damp tunnel and the ground was littered with the bones of small animals, mostly rats by the look of it. The walls gave off a strange glow which meant they could see somewhat. Sadly, it didn't look like they'd be able to climb the pipe they'd just come down.

"What are we going to do now?" Ron asked in fear, looking at Harry.

"I think we should see if there's a way out of here," Harry said.

"And if...if we see the Basilisk, maybe I can talk to it."

"You'd need to talk quick," Ron muttered but he agreed with the plan.

They walked all along the damp tunnel until they found their way blocked by a snake covered seal. But as soon as Harry commanded it to open, it did so, the snakes sliding back into the dripping stone, causing the three of them to shiver.

Climbing through, they found themselves inside a carven that had a high ceiling and was very long. Large snakes heads with gaping mouths guarded the entrances to other, smaller tunnels but straight ahead of them, right at the very end was a huge statue.

They slowly made their way to it, it was the statue of a man with long robes and a short beard. He had a cunning, clever look about him, even though he was made of stone. Hermione broke the silence, her voice echoing slightly.

"That must be Slytherin."

"Looks cheerful," Ron muttered softly, the man wasn't smiling.

He just looked very knowingly at them, as though he knew what they were up to.

"What now?" Hermione asked, looking around the chamber.

"I don't see any sign of it."

"Maybe it's sleeping?" Ron suggested, looking nervously about as if it was about to jump out at them.

"I bet you have to call it," Harry said slowly. "I mean, I doubt it just hangs around."

"Makes sense," Hermione said, very nervous now.

"We'll be alright," Harry assured her. "It'll be curious about me, I think as I'm a speaker. Just stick really close to me and I'll talk to it."

"Okay," she squeaked, moving as close as possible to Harry, Ron following her led.

Harry took a deep breath, staring at the snakes on the wall that surrounded Slytherin and spoke.

"_Hello, my name is Harry Potter, is there anyone here?"_

For a moment, there was silence as Ron and Hermione pressed closer to him. And then there was a scraping noise and they looked up in shock at the statue whose mouth was opening.

Ron swore before forcing his eyes to the floor, his two friends doing the same. They heard a heavy thump and knew something huge had just landed on the floor. They heard it slither in their direction before it paused.

"_Sssspeaker, are you here?"_

"_Yes," _Harry answered. _"I am a Speaker and these two are my friends."_

"_Why are you here, ssssspeaker?"_

"_We wanted to meet you," _Harry answered honestly and the Basilisk was silent at this.

"_Were you sent?" _it finally said and Harry shook his head.

"_No, but we knew about the legend of the Chamber of Secrets and we worked out that you lived here. So we came to see you."_

"_Hmmm, that sounds like the sort of thing Gryffindor would do," _the Basilisk now said and Harry could have sworn it sniffed in disapproval.

"_We are Gryffindors,"_ Harry admitted. _"Um, does that bother you?"_

"_No, my master was good friends with Gryffindor, he just thought he was very rash."_

"_Uh, yeah, I think we can be sometimes," _Harry said softly, feeling the others shift beside him.

"_What's your name?"_ Harry decided to ask.

"_I will tell you but you must look at me,"_ it replied. _"I will cover my eyesssss so they do not freezzzze you."_

"_May my friends look?" _Harry questioned and got a slight hissing chuckle in return.

"_I expect it, little one."_

"Look up," Harry said to his friends. "It's safe now."

The three of them trembled but did as told. They gasped at the sight of the monstrous serpent eyeing them from above. It towered above them, with bright green scales that gleamed in the low light. It looked like its scales were thick enough to act as armour and it stood proudly with a red feathery frill on its head.

But as they looked into its face, they saw that the huge yellow eyes were glazed over and realised that it must have an extra eye lid to protect from its gaze. A long tongue flicked in and out, tasting their scent as they gaped at it.

"Wow," Hermione finally said in awe as Ron nodded dumbly.

"_My friends are very...impressed,"_ Harry quickly said.

"Of course," the serpent replied, drawing its self even more.

Harry couldn't help but tremble slightly because as it spoke, massive, dagger like teeth was revealed. This snake clearly didn't need to rely on its deadly gaze. He swallowed before asking.

"_What is your name, great one?"_

"_My massster named me Ethelinda, for the noble sssssnake I am."_

Harry blinked, this was a female snake? He quickly said to his friends.

"Her name's Ethelinda."

"She's a girl?" Ron said, gawking at Harry, barely able to believe what he'd just heard.

Harry nodded before turned back to her.

"_I'm sorry to ask but have you been attacking students this year?"_

"_My massster placed me here to defend this sssschool," _she replied.

"_His heir came and said the school was in danger again so I emerged from my slumber to help."_

She tasted the air again before saying.

"_I remember a sssscent."_

"_You attacked my friend, Hermione," _Harry said quietly.

"_Ah yesss, I did,"_ Ethelinda said, peering at Hermione who looked very nervous at the gaze.

"_But Hermione is not a danger to this school,"_ Harry said quickly. "_There is no danger, not at the moment and definitely not from Muggleborns."_

"_But Muggleborns bring danger to this ssssacred place," _Ethelinda argued.

"_My master knew this and that is why I am here."_

"What's she saying?" Hermione asked and Harry quickly told her.

She looked thoughtful at this as Ron frowned. Harry wasn't sure how he was going to explain to Ethelinda that things had changed.

"I think I understand," Hermione suddenly said and as the two boys turned to look at her, she explained.

"Think about the time period we're talking about, over a thousand years ago. Back then, anyone who was from a different culture, religion or even a different country was regarded with suspicion. Just imagine the fighting between wizards and muggles there must have been."

"You're right," Harry said slowly. "We learned in primary about Vikings and Romans attacking Britain. And the Crusades, that was really bloody."

Ron suddenly looked like he had a brainwave.

"Yeah, and if there were muggles who were half as horrible as your relatives, no wonder Slytherin thought they were bad."

"He might not have necessarily thought all Muggleborns were bad," Hermione now said in excitement.

"But I bet there was a real risk that some Muggleborns might feel isolated among all those who had Magical blood and they could have ended up as spies for Witch Hunters. So he wouldn't want to take that risk that the school he'd worked so hard to build might be destroyed."

"That makes sense," Ron said, nodding. "It's only Muggleborns you hear about him hating, you don't really hear anything about Half Bloods."

"He would have probably thought Half Bloods to be more influenced by their magical parent," Hermione said with a smile at how everything was coming together.

"And of course, Pure Bloods would definitely have never led Muggles to Hogwarts."

"And that's why Slytherin stands for cunning and loyalty to its own," Harry finished with a grin.

They all grinned at each other, ecstatic by their deductions. But they had momentarily forgotten the presence of the being who resided there.

"_What are you chattering about?" _Ethelinda demanded, moving closer to them.

"_I'm sorry,"_ Harry quickly apologised. _"We were just trying to figure some stuff out."_

"She wants to know what we were talking about," Harry quickly whispered in English to his friends.

"Oh Harry, please explain to her how everything's different now," Hermione urged him.

"Wizards aren't hunted any more, Muggleborns come to Hogwarts only to become Wizards and they are happy to be."

"Right," Harry said, before facing Ethelinda and looking at her glazed over eyes.

"_I'm sorry for taking so long, we get a bit...excited when we find out something,"_ he explained in a respectful tone.

"_And what issss it that you have found out, young one?" _she questioned.

"_Well, basically, a lot of time has past since your master put you here," _Harry began in a firm voice.

"_When he left, he wanted you to protect Hogwarts from anyone who might harm it or the students?"_

"_That is correct young one,"_ she said, looking very curious. _"But what is it that you were talking about?"_

"_Things are different now," _Harry explained. _"Muggles don't know about Wizards any more, just in stories."_

"_How can this be?"_ Ethelinda questioned in disbelief.

"_About three hundred years ago, the Ministry past an Act of Secrecy,"_ Harry said, not sure about the exact wording. _"But it decreed that we live in a separate world to Muggles. Only Muggles who have magical kids or marry Witches and Wizards know about us."_

"_This is...unexpected,"_ she said softly. _"I was told that Muggles still despise us."_

"_Some do,"_ Harry said truthfully. _"But some Wizards hate Muggles even when they've never met them. But that doesn't mean all Muggles are bad, most are good."_

He took a deep breath, wishing Hermione could speak Parseltongue, she could explain so _much better than him._

"_Things are different nowadays. I mean, there's still a lot of prejudice out there but most people don't have a problem with others cultures and stuff."_

He looked towards his friends, who in some ways were so different and yet they were all so close.

"_Slytherin didn't despise Muggleborns and Half Bloods, did he?"_ Harry asked the great serpent.

"_No, snakeling, he didn't. But some of the Muggleborns were dangerous."_

Harry nodded.

"_But it's not like that now,"_ he said softly. "_All the Muggleborns that come here, want to be here, they consider themselves Magical. And I...I think this is what the four Founders wanted."_

He took another deep breath, then took a step back, wrapping his arms around his two friend.

"_The three of us are really different,"_ he began, indicating Ron first.

"_Ron's a Pureblood but he doesn't hate Muggles. He's brave enough for Gryffindor but loyal enough for Hufflepuff."_

"_I'm a Half Blood, and though I'm a Gryffindor, I could have been a Slytherin. And I think I could have also gone to Hufflepuff."_

And now he looked at Hermione.

"_And Hermione's a Muggleborn but she's the most brilliant witch in the school. She could have easily ended up in Ravenclaw but she chose to be a Gryffindor."_

As his two best friends wrapped their arms around him, sensing that he was saying something important, he finished with.

"_These two are my best friends and they always will be. I trust them more than I trust anything else and I'd be willing to risk my life for them and I know they would to. They have, they support me even though I'm...marked."_

He pointed to his lightning bolt shaped scar, the thing that his friends never looked at. They saw past his Boy-Who-Lived personal and saw only Harry. He honestly didn't know what he'd do without them.

"_Their...their my family," _he said softly, his voice nearly breaking with emotion but he had to get this point across.

"_You truly care for them,"_ Ethelinda said softly with a gentle hiss. _"And I can see them feel the same way, they stand at your side as you dare to face the Queen of Serpents. I have not seen such love and devotion since...the Four Founders of this great castle."_

"_They were good friends?" _Harry asked with interest and she bobbed her head.

"_Brothers and sisters, little one,"_ she answered gently.

Harry grinned.

"_I'd love to learn more about them,"_ he said earnestly before remembering his friends.

"_We all would, I think a lot has been lost about what kind of people they were really like."_

"Wish I knew what they were saying," Ron couldn't help but say as Harry and Ethelinda continued hissing and Hermione sighed.

"I know what you mean."

Harry gave Ethelinda a small sad smile.

"_My friends wish they could talk to you as well," he said sadly. "It's really strange for them."_

"_But they still trust you to speak with me?"_ she questioned and Harry asked his friends this.

"Of course we do," Hermione said, nodding rapidly.

"Yeah, Harry's good at talking...I wouldn't know what to say," Ron mumbled, his ears a little red.

Harry didn't need to translate this, Ethelinda got the message. She titled her head, regarding them with her piercing stare.

"_True loyal friends,"_ she murmured softly, seemingly thinking something over.

And then she said something none of them were expecting.

"_If I could give them the gift of Speaking, would they take it?"_

"_I...how would you do that?" _Harry asked, astonished.

"_Tell them to open their mouth and stick their tongues out,"_ she commanded. _"It will sting briefly but they must not close their mouths until I say so."_

Harry repeated what Ethelinda had said, causing his friends to look as shocked as he felt.

"What's she going to do?" Ron asked as Hermione said.

"Will be really be able to speak with her."

"_They will be able to communicate better with magical ssssnakes,"_ Ethelinda now said to Harry_. "But over time, if they have an ear for it, they could speak with other sssssnakes. But you will always be the true Sssspeaker."_

Harry again, repeated what she said.

"Are you...," Ron began before swallowing and trying again.

"Can we trust her?"

Harry looked back at her, trying to judge what his instinct was telling him. He finally nodded as he said.

"I think so but maybe you guys should close your eyes or something, just in case."

"O-okay," Hermione said with a slight tremble, lifting her head, opening her mouth and sticking her tongue out.

Ron did the same, squeezing his eyes shut like her. Harry watched as Ethelinda opened her mouth, revealing all her fangs and hovering over the open mouths. As he watched, drops of venom formed on her two largest fangs until she had two large droplets.

She bent nearer until she was very close to them. And then suddenly, the droplets fell, splashing onto the waiting tongues. Harry saw his friends flinch but they managed to keep still as the venom glowed and then disappeared.

"_They can close their mouths now,"_ Ethelinda said softly, raising her head again, away from the three children.

But before Harry could say anything, they did it, smacking their lips slightly as though trying to taste what had been on their tongue. Venom still dripped from Ethelinda's fangs and Hermione quickly held out a bottle to catch some of it, the Basilisk wasn't bothered.

"_I can't taste anything,"_ Hermione said in wonder as she tucked the bottle away. _"And...it doesn't hurt."_

"_Of course not, young one,"_ Ethelinda said softly, causing Ron and Hermione to stare at her.

"_Bloody hell,"_ Ron couldn't help but say. _"I know what you're saying"_

"_Indeed, that was my intent,"_ Ethelinda said with a chuckle.

"_Oh my, this is so incredible,"_ Hermione said in delight.

"_It's great,"_ Harry said firmly with a grin.

"_Now I'm not the only one."_

His friends smiled at the look of relief on his face. He really hated being the sole centre of attention.

"_You're certainly not," _Hermione said with a wide smile.

"_Hey guys,"_ Ron now said. _"I don't want to spoil this but how are we going to get out of here?"_

"_I shall take you,"_ Ethelinda announced and they stared at her.

"_I have done it before," _she said, not sounding concerned at all.

"_Climb onto my back and I shall take you."_

They did as told, climbing onto her warm, surprisingly smooth skin.

"_You won't attack anyone else?"_ Hermione asked in concern. _"I mean, there really isn't any danger from Muggleborns."_

"_I will not though it would be nice to have some proper food. I tire of small rodents."_

"_We'll make sure you get plenty of food," _Harry assured her as they were taken along the tunnel at a rapid pace.

They clung on as she suddenly shot up the slide, using her powerful muscles to grip the slide's wall. They emerged into the bathroom, blinking at the bright sunlight. Myrtle was nowhere to be seen but they weren't sorry. They had a feeling she'd panic at the sight of Ethelinda.

"_Thank you,"_ Harry said gratefully as they jumped off her back.

"_We'll come back soon with food."_

"_Just throw it down the hole little one, I will sssssense it."_

"_We will," _Ron promised, feeling a little bit braver.

"_Wait,"_ Hermione cried as Ethelinda started to descend back into the depth.

"_What was the name of the heir?"_

"_He called himself Tom Riddle," _Ethelinda answered before her head disappeared down the hole.

The sinks trembled and then shifted back into place, sealing the Chamber once more. But the trio were left shocked.

"Tom Riddle did this?" Hermione said in shock.

"Bastard," Ron snarled. "He framed Hargid."

"But how's he opening the chamber now?" Harry wondered aloud as they began to walk out of the bathroom and along the corridor.

"He'd be what, sixty five or something by now. It just doesn't make sense."

"I think we need to hand that diary in," Hermione said with concern.

"Right now, I don't care about classes and don't give me that look," she added before they could do anything.

"If that monster has anything to do with what's been happening."

"Don't worry, that's what we're going to do," Harry said grimly and the three of them hurried straight to their Common Room.

Since everyone was at classes, they didn't meet anyone for which they were thankful. They knew they'd probably been missed and would be in a lot of trouble. They'd rather have the diary in their hands before that happened.

They entered without trouble and quickly headed up to the boys dormitory. But there, they got a huge shock.

The whole room was in disarray, as though someone had been searching for something in a great hurray. But that wasn't what drew their eyes, for there, standing near Harry's bed was an older boy wearing a perfect badge and Slytherin robes.

"You!" Harry exclaimed as Tom Riddle smirked.

"Indeed, Harry Potter and these must be your dear little friends, the Mudblood and the blood traitor."

"How did you get here?" Harry demanded, pointing his wand like Hermione and Ron.

Riddle laughed lightly.

"It's quite a surprise isn't it? But I can't blame you for I have done what no other has done before."

"Just like Percy," Ron muttered to Harry.

"What are you?" Hermione demanded.

Riddle ignored her, focusing on Harry.

"Tell me, how did a little baby defeat the greatest wizard of all time?"

Harry frowned, that was a strange question to ask at a time like this.

"What do you care, Voldemort was way before your time," he said slowly as Riddle laughed.

"Voldemort is my past, present and future," he sneered before waving a wand to write the words 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' in the before giving his wand a flick.

"Oh my," Hermione gasped as the words formed 'I am Lord Voldemort'.

"Yes, you puny children, I am your worst nightmare made real," Riddle sneered but Harry wouldn't back down.

"Your just a memory, you can't hurt us," he said hotly and Riddle gave a very evil smile.

"That was true once upon a time but things have changed, I can hurt you now. And would you like to know who helped me accomplish this goal?"

"Who?" Ron sneered. "Some Slytherin?"

"Oh no, Ronald Weasley, that's the best part, it was a _Gryffindor,"_ Riddle said with a very wide sneer now.

"And not just any Gryffindor either."

He stepped to the side, grasping Harry's drawn drapes around his bed and giving them a tug to reveal what was within.

"But this little Gryffindor."

There, lying bound and gagged was a whimpering Ginny Weasley, tears streaking down his face as she stared at the shocked trio. She was lying on her front, her feet near the headrest, her face lying on its side as tears leaked down her face.

"Poor little thing," Riddle said with a sneer. "She overheard you at lunch and knew you had my diary. And the little wench couldn't stop herself trying to get it back."

He laughed as Ron made to lunge at him but was held back by Harry and Hermione.

"Bastard, I'll kill you," Ron snarled, fighting to get at him.

"Without a wand?" Riddle said with a raised eyebrow.

"I can see why you're a Blood Traitor Weasley, if you prefer your fists to a wand."

"Some things are more satisfying the _muggle_ way," Ron growled, wishing he could beat the monster who'd hurt his sister to a pulp.

Riddle merely sneered, twiddling Ginny's wand in his hands.

"Sadly, you wouldn't get even a step forward before I cursed you," he said in a matter of fact tone.

"I would really hate to have to do that to a Pure Blood."

"Ginny's a Pure Blood," Hermione hissed indignantly at how much of a hypocrite he was.

"Hmm, yes," Riddle said with a small nod, running his hand through Ginny's lovely red hair.

"It would be a shame to kill her, she should be continuing the Pure Blood line. I could always take your life force in her stead."

"You're not taking anyone's life force," Harry growled as Ron now recovered enough to point his wand again.

"How amusing," Riddle sneered. "I haven't had target practise in a while now. But I'd still like my question answered."

"Fine, you want to know what stopped you," Harry said with a sneer of his own.

"My mother, a mere _Muggleborn_ stopped the Darkest wizard there's ever been and he never even saw it coming. You should see what you look like now, an ugly, weak spirit that has to feed on others to survive. You're pathetic."

Riddle's face twisted in fury for a moment but then it relaxed back into a sneer.

"So, it wasn't you that stopped me. Pure luck, that's all it was, there's nothing special about you, Harry Potter."

"Ha, that's what you think," Ron said smugly, sharing a knowing look with Hermione.

This younger Dark lord didn't know any of the things Harry had done and this was only their second year at Hogwarts. Who knew what else he'd accomplish in the years to come.

"It matters not," Riddle said coldly. "I'm going to kill you, take the girl and be on my way. Although, I may just open a little chamber on my way out."

"Good luck with that," Hermione said primly and Riddle glared at her.

"What?"

"The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, in Myrtle's bathroom," Hermione said with a small smile.

"I'm afraid you won't be using that, in fact, no one will ever be able to use it ever again."

Harry and Ron were so grim that their expressions didn't change at this as Riddle's eyes widened in shock and anger.

"You filthy little Mudblood," he snarled, raising his wand in a slashing movement."

Ron grabbed Hermione and they lunged out of the way as Harry threw himself in the other direction. The wooden door behind them exploded with pieces of splinters flying, leaving several nasty gashes in the ancient wood. Ron shielded Hermione with his body but Harry was already jumping into action.

He shot several jinxes at Riddle while keeping on the move but Riddle managed to block them. But then a stinging jink hit his arm and he turned his head to see that Ron and Hermione were in the fight. But no matter how many jinxes and hexes they threw at him, he blocked them all and they had to run and duck as he returned with even nastier spells.

Finally, Ron resorted to more drastic measures, as Riddle blocked another jinx from Harry, he chucked a sharp piece of wood like a javelin at him. It pierced his side and Riddle snarled at this while Ron looked triumphant.

But this soon turned to shock as Riddle simply pulled it out, the wound disappearing in an instant. They gaped, how had he done that?

"You can't hurt me," Riddle said with a mocking laugh.

"I am Lord Voldemort and even if you shot Avada Kadava at me, it wouldn't have an effect. I am truly the greatest wizard of all..."

"You're not," Harry hissed, ignoring a gash in his left arm.

"What?" Riddle snapped again, eyes flashing red as he glared at Harry.

"Dumbledore is the world's greatest sorcerer, not you Riddle. He was the only thing you ever feared when you were at the height of your power and he never fell for any of your acts. Next to him, you're nothing."

"Dumbledore has been driven from this school by the mere _memory_ of me," Riddle hissed in fury.

"Dumbledore will never been gone, not as long as there are people who believe in him," Harry said in a voice that seemed far beyond his years.

Before Riddle could answer, there was a sudden flash of bright light and a Phoenix appeared, keening a sweet song as it flew around the ruined dormitory room. It clutched something in its talons which was dropped at Harry's feet before the bird went to land on a far bed post.

Harry quickly scooped up what Fawkes had brought but to his disappointment, it was just the old school Sorting Hat. Hermione and Ron looked unhappy by this as well but Riddle was ecstatic.

"A hat?" he cackled, his face twisted in ugliness. "This is what Dumbledore sends his great defender, ha, ha, ha, ha."

"A hat?" Hermione murmured softly as Harry looked up, his shoulders slumped.

But he noticed, as Riddle continued laughing, that Ginny was moaning louder and struggling more. As he turned slightly, he saw that she was in fact, trying to point to something. He followed where she was looking and saw the diary lying on his bedside cabinet.

And somehow he knew that this was the key to defeating the seemingly invincible Tom Riddle.

"Ha, ha, ha, well, as amusing as this was, I think we need to get back to business," Riddle sneered, sending a curse at Harry which forced him to drop behind a bed.

Still holding the Sorting Hat, he jammed it onto his head, thinking desperately.

"Help, we need help."

Something fell heavily onto his head. Blinking stars, he pulled his head out of the hat and found he was holding a ruby encrusted sword. He gazed at it, feeling a sense of strange joy explode inside him. Gripping it, he stood up, though the sword was hidden at his side.

He was just in time to see Hermione diving out of the way, a small bottle flying from her pocket. He couldn't do anything, it smashed against the hard surface of the sword and its contents dripped down its side.

"I tire of this," Riddle said, lazily disarming Ron so that his wand flew into his hand.

"So do I," Harry said boldly. "So come on, try and disarm me."

"You're daring me?" Riddle sneered, now aiming Ron's wand at Harry.

"Yep, I am," Harry said coolly.

"Very well, Accio,"

But with a bang, Ron's wand backfired on him and Riddle went flying back.

"Hermione, the diary," Harry yelled and she didn't need to be told twice.

As Riddle was rubbing his head where he'd fallen, Hermione waved her waved and yelled.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The diary flew into the air as Harry charged forward, raising the sword high. Riddle saw what was happening and tried to scramble to his feet, screaming, 'No!'

But Harry brought the sword down, stabbing through the very centre of the little black book. Black ink squirted out everywhere as Riddle screamed. Light exploded from him as he screamed in pain and fury and then he exploded.

Harry stood breathing heavily, the diary now impaled on the sword, Hermione and Ron standing behind him. But then Ginny moaned and he dropped the sword to rush to her side with his friends.

"Ginny," Ron cried, yanking the gag out of her mouth and seizing her into a tight hug.

"Ron, careful, I think she might be hurt," Hermione cautioned, using her wand to cut the binding ropes.

"Sorry," Ron apologised but Ginny threw herself into his arms regardless.

"I'm so sorry," she wept. "This is all my fault, I-I didn't know..."

"We're not blaming you," Harry said gently, rubbing her back.

"Riddle fooled us, it's not your fault."

"But I attacked people, including Hermione," Ginny wailed, staring at Hermione with haunted eyes.

"He cursed her when she wouldn't give in, and he let me watch the whole thing."

"Ginny, I don't blame you," Hermione said firmly. "Riddle was a monster, not you and not Ethelinda."

"Ethelinda?" Ginny said confused as Ron lifted her up into his arms.

"Oh, um, we met the Basislisk," Hermione said with a small smile.

"But you don't need to worry, she's quite nice when you get to know her."

"Uh, let's talk about this later," Ron advised as Ginny stared at her busy haired friend.

"Good idea," Harry said, bending to grab Ron and Ginny's wand.

"I'm not sure this will work again," he told Ron softly as they headed for the exit.

"I don't care," Ron said, holding his sister close.

Harry smiled and promised he'd himself that if Ron's parents had trouble, he'd get Ron a new wand. After all the Weasleys had done, it was the least he could do. He still carried the sword which had the dripping diary hanging off it.

They got out of the tower and were walking along the corridor when they run into Snape, who looked livid.

"You three," he snarled, seeing them coming towards them.

"Where the hell have you been...?"

He stopped at the sight of Ginny, whimpering in Ron's arms. She looked bruised and miserable while the other three looked battered and bloody. And for some reason, Potter was holding a sword with a book stuck on the end.

"It's a long story, sir," Harry said with a very tired smile as his Potion's master stared at him.

"Very long story."

To be continued

_Author's note. The next chapter continues this story. I may write another story at some point that had Ethelinda in it, who knows. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this and if you have ideas for other shorts, please let me know, thanks._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note. With thanks to Snapegirlkmf who inspired me to write this chapter which continues from the last one._

_This has quite a bit of Snape/Harry mentor in it which I hope everyone enjoys. Snape may be a little OC and I apologise if anyone finds him like this. I can only blame the fact he was really shocked by what had happened, lol._

_I have a question for people, Has anyone read a story called 'A little light reading'? It's a really brilliant fic that's set during Harry's first year and involves Snape reading the Philosophers Stone. I really loved it but I can't find it in my Favourites any more nor does anything come up when I search for it._

_Does anyone know the Author's name and where I can find this story, I really want to read it again. Thank you._

_Suggestions are welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

"_It's a long story sir, a very long story."_

Severus Snape raised an eyebrow as Potter uttered these words.

"Really?" he drawled, eyeing all four of them.

"Care to give me a quick account of just what you've been up to?"

They shifted nervously under his gaze.

"Well we've sort of...being trying to find out who the Heir of Slytherin is," Potter said hesitantly.

Snape's black eyes flashed.

"What?" he said very slowly.

"Yeah, we thought it was Malfoy, sir," Weasley began before quickly mumbling.

"But um, it wasn't him."

"We had to find out sir," Potter said urgently.

"They attacked Hermione and Hagrid said to follow the spiders..."

"Spiders?" Snape asked in disbelief as Weasley shuddered.

"Yeah, these really massive ones that live in the Forbidden Forest," Potter answered as Snape nearly gaped at him.

"And would this be by any chance the time I caught you two?" he demanded and they nodded sheepishly.

"We were a bit late," Potter admitted.

"But we found out loads of important stuff like Hagrid was innocent and that the girl had died in a bathroom."

"What girl?" Snape demanded again, getting annoyed that he had to ask all these questions.

"Moaning Mrytle, Professor," Granger said quietly.

"The Basilisk killed her when the Chamber was opened last time."

Snape felt the blood drain from his face as she said these words. Slytherin's monster was a Basilisk? A terrifying monster of a snake had been roaming these halls? He literally could not speak for several moment, he was that shocked. But Potter's next few words snapped him out of it.

"But she's really not that bad sir, I talked to her."

"You...talked to her?" Snape began in a cold whisper.

"You went into the Chamber of Secrets and _talked_ with the Basilisk?"

Potter looked uncertainly at his two sidekicks before slowly nodding.

"Yes sir, we did."

Snape took a deep, steadying breath. And then he let rip with an almighty roar.

"What the hell were you thinking Potter, jumping straight into a Basilisk's lair, have you no sense? You could have been killed, you foolish, foolish child."

The four children gaped at him, none of them had ever seen him this incensed. But he wasn't finished yet, no, he was just getting started.

"Of all the stupid, arrogant things I have seen over the years, and trust me Potter, I knew your father, this one takes the cake. I had hoped you wouldn't be as utterly reckless or as disregarding to rules as he was but it seems I was _very_ much mistaken."

He continued in this rant for another few moments, going on about how much of an idiot James Potter had been and while he'd have been delighted by Harry's actions, Snape definitely wasn't.

"Potter, do you even begin to comprehend the danger you put yourself and your little friends into? No, like a little idiot, you rush in where even fools dread to walk. How could you risk yourself like that?"

"I did it to save my friends," Potter burst out, both angry and upset.

"We didn't mean to go into the Chamber, we had to save Ron. And Riddle attacked Hermione, I wasn't going to let that lie. And I'm not _just_ like my father, I think I'm like my mum, she put my life before hers and that's what I did with my friends."

Snape breathed very heavily as the boy glared defiantly up at him. Once he was in control of himself, he said in a very cold voice.

"If Lily were here right now, hero or no hero, she would blister your behind for such an insane stunt. Maybe _THAT_ would cure you of your urge to continually put yourself in harm's way. Maybe that's what you need . . ."

And he began to advance on the children, a glint in his eyes that was scarier than his usual mean stare. The two Weasleys and Granger were definitely looking terrified. But Potter was backing away slightly, looking very alarmed.

"W-what are you doing?" the boy asked, trembling.

"I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago," Snape said grimly, reaching for him with a slowly rising hand.

This was the moment that Harry Potter did what he'd never in his life done before. He turned, dropped the sword and ran for his life, as fast as his short legs could carry him. For a single moment, Snape was stunned but then he burst into action.

"_Potter,_ come back here now!"

But Harry didn't listen, just kept on running. He had a slight head start on his angry teacher but it wouldn't last. Snape was much bigger and stronger than him, so it wouldn't take him long to catch up. And Harry fully believed that Snape was going to do actually as he said and blister his bum.

And Harry didn't relish that thought at all.

He had no idea where he was going, all he wanted to do was put as much distance between him and the angry Professor. So it was with some surprise that he found himself running along the corridor that contained Myrtle's bathroom. A mad thought suddenly came into his head, maybe Ethelinda would protect him.

"What are you doing here again?" Myrtle said in complete surprise as he skidded into her bathroom.

"Trying to escape form Professor Snape," he said hurriedly as he came to a halt next to the special sink and hissed at it.

"_Open up now." _

As soon as the hole was revealed, Harry leapt straight into it, just as Snape came charging in.

"_**Potter!"**_

Harry slid at top speed down the slide, going even faster since he wasn't hanging onto anyone. He was sent soaring out of the slide, flying through the air, only to be caught by something in mind air. Slightly dazed, he hung in the grasp of who knew who until he heard an amused hiss.

"_Back so soon, little one?"_

"_Ethelinda," _Harry said with a gasp as he was brought face to face with the massive serpent.

She had apparently caught him in her coils before he could fly smack into a stone wall. He was very grateful for this but was starting to wonder if coming down here had been a good idea.

"_I'm sorry to barge in like this,"_ he began apologetically.

"_But I had to get away from him."_

"_From who?"_ Ethelinda asked, before raising her head as she sensed the approach of another being.

"_Professor Snape,"_ Harry said with a slight tremble before he too heard the sound of someone coming down the slide.

"_Oh, he's coming."_

"_Do you want me to bite him?"_ Ethelinda asked causally and Harry yelped.

"_No, please, don't hurt him,"_

"_Very well," _she replied just as Snape came sliding out of the slide.

Snape was on his feet in a moment, his face bright red with fury. He stopped in shock at the sight of Ethelinda though so now his face was a mixture of anger and fear. Ethelinda regarded him before asking Harry.

"_Why were you running from him?"_

"_He uh...,"_ Harry said, now very embarrassed.

"Potter," Snape now said in a surprisingly calm voice as he watched the two hiss back and forth.

"What are you saying?"

"Oh, Ethelinda wants to know why I was running away Professor," Harry answered shyly as Ethelinda set him back on the floor.

"But I told her your my teacher and...not to bite you."

"How thoughtful," Snape said with only a slight sneer.

"And does she realise just what a naughty child you are?"

"Um, no," Harry said sheepishly as Ethelinda looked at both of them curiously.

"She wants to know why I was running from you."

Snape looked down his hooked nose at Harry, in full stern teacher mode.

"Then why don't you tell her, mister Potter."

Harry bit his lip before turning to Ethelinda.

"_Professor Snape was angry at me because...I've put myself into danger a few times this year."_

"_Like coming to see me?"_ she said knowingly and Harry nodded.

"_He thinks I'm reckless and he was going to spank me."_

"_And you ran away from this? Little one, that was very foolish,"_ Ethelinda said disapprovingly.

"_He is your teacher and you should not run away if he wished to punish you so."_

"_But he's not meant to,"_ Harry protested.

"_Teachers don't hit kids any more, our headmaster doesn't like it."_

Ethelinda frowned.

"_How extraordinary," _she murmured. _"Things have changed a lot."_

"_Yeah,"_ Harry said softly, eyeing Snape out of the corner of his eye.

"What is she saying, Mister Potter?" Snape now demanded and Harry automatically.

"She thinks its weird teacher can't hit kids anymore."

"Really," Snape said dryly.

"Well, I suppose things were much different a thousand years ago."

"I think so, sir," Harry agreed with a nod.

"Hmm," Snape mumbled, before suddenly beckoning Harry over.

Very reluctantly, Harry approached him till he was only a metre or two away. Snape regarded him for a moment before saying softly.

"Do you know why I was going to punish you with a spanking?"

"Umm...,"Harry mumbled nervously.

There was an honest answer and then the answer that wouldn't get him spanked. But Snape somehow knew what he was thinking and sighed heavily. Taking a step forward, he dropped down on one knee, grasping Harry's shoulder.

"Do you really think I was going to do it because I'm an evil bat who enjoys torturing children?"

"Err," Harry said, not looking at him.

Snape sighed heavily, he supposed it was no wonder the boy thought that was the reason. But that didn't mean he liked it.

"Potter," he began heavily.

"That is not the reason at all. I was going to give that punishment to you because you don't seem to have any regard towards your own safety."

"I do," Harry protested, causing Snape to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh really," he said evenly.

"So when you're about to do some crazy stunt, such as jumping into the Chamber of Secrets, did you stop and think 'Wait, I could die if I do this'? Did you?"

"Um, no," Harry said very sheepishly.

"I just thought I had to help Ron, he fell down, by accident," he hastily assured his dour teacher.

Snape sighed heavily again.

"Despite the fact you are your father son," he began as Harry grimaced.

"Even he placed a higher value on his own life than you seem to. Do you think you're life is worthless?"

Harry shrugged, not really knowing what to say.

"A verbal answer, if you please," Snape said but not harshly.

"I...I don't want to die sir," Harry mumbled, having difficulty raising his head.

"But you still don't place much value on your life," Snape said softly. "Don't you think your family would miss grieve if you died?"

Harry wrinkled his nose.

"The Dursleys will be disappointed I _didn't_ die, sir."

"Come now, you must be exaggerating, Mister Potter," Snape responded and Harry said.

"I suppose. But they don't really care what I do sir, as long as it doesn't affect them."

Snape regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before saying.

"So, you've never had proper boundaries before coming here?"

"Probably not, sir," Harry said softly.

"Well, I suppose this explains a few things. And since the headmaster tends to indulge you when you've done something ridiculous, perhaps it's no wonder you acted so foolishly this year."

Harry at this point felt the need to defend himself.

"We did try to tell someone about the Stone, sir," he said seriously.

"But Professor McGonagall didn't believe us, Professor Dumbledore was gone and we thought..."

He broke off at this point, embarrassed by the fact he'd suspected his Potions teacher.

"You believed I was after the Stone?" Snape said, sounding amused.

"Well, yeah," Harry said with a shrug. "Um, Professor Quirell said you seemed more the type."

"I am," Snape said and Harry stared at him.

Had he just...poked fun at himself?

"But regardless, Mister Potter, I think you need this. The punishment that is."

Harry didn't look very happy at this prospect so Snape quickly said.

"Did you know your friend Mister Weasley still gets it at home? As do the other Weasley children who still resides at their parents' house."

"Really?" Harry said in amazement.

"Indeed," Snape said with a small smile.

"In some cases, Mrs Weasley has actually Flooed over to deliver a well earned punishment to the twins. When they've gone a bit far and Professor McGonagall felt they were in need of it."

"I didn't know that," Harry said in awe.

"No, and I trust you not to go spreading it around," Snape said sternly but as Harry nodded earnestly, he knew he wouldn't.

"And incidentally, some other parents reserve the right to be called to deliver punishment. Sometimes at the students bequest, if they don't want to lose a huge amount of points or something equally damaging."

Harry's eyes were now huge with wonder as he digested this new information. He suppose it made sense for kids to have that option, after all, if he had parents, he'd probably take that option rather than losing his House loads of points.

"Do you understand why those parents spank their children?" Snape now asked quietly as Ethelinda coiled herself up.

She recognised they were having a serious discussion, she could sense the young boy needed his mentor's reassurance.

"Because they've been naughty?" Harry tried, hoping it was the right answer.

"In part yes Harry, but it's mainly to show just how worried they were," Snape explained patiently.

"They do it because they love their children and don't want them to make the same mistakes again. They want their children to think about the consequences of their actions."

"But no one loves me, Professor," Harry said in a matter of fact tone that raised hairs on the back of Snape's neck.

"Foolish child," he scolded. "Of course there are people who love you. Namely your friends, Miss Granger and Mister Weasley, not to mention his whole family. And what about the likes of Hagrid or your Head of House? Don't you think they'd be devastated if something were to happen to you?"

"Really?" Harry said in amazement.

He remembered how Hagrid had cried when he was in the Hospital Wing and how worried Ron and Hermione had been. Mrs Weasley had despaired over his lack of weight and had insisted on feeding him as much as possible. And though Professor McGonagall was very strict, she was also very kind. Hadn't she bought him that broom and made him the Seeker for the Gryffindor team.

"I guess they do," he said very slowly as though this was a completely novel idea.

Snape sighed heavily before saying.

"Of course they do, haven't you seen the adoring looks they bestow on you?"

As he'd hope, this snarky comment snapped Harry out of the gloom he was about to descend into.

"They do not," he said indignantly.

Snape chuckled at the fierce look on Harry's face.

"Well no matter, we'd better wrap things up here, Mister Potter."

"Oh, okay," Harry said, relaxing again before looking a bit nervous.

"Um, are you going to spank me sir?"

"I think I should," Snape said softly.

"You need to understand you can't take on the world's problems by yourself. And also the fact that your life means a lot, more than you can imagine."

"So, you're doing this because you...care?" Harry asked shyly.

Snape smiled wryly.

"I care about all my students Mister Potter, no matter how dunderheaded they are. That's a big part of being a teacher, after all."

Harry's eyes were as wide as saucers but he looked much happier.

"_Have you resolved things with your master?" _Ethelinda now asked.

"_Yeah,"_ Harry replied. _"Professor Snape's explained why it's a good idea to spank me, to show he cares about me."_

Ethelinda looked pleased about this.

"_I'm pleased you understand, he must be a very good teacher."_

"_He's a bit stern and grumpy but he's very clever," _Harry said honestly as Snape moved to a broken slab of stone and sat down.

"_He's also saved my life a couple of times."_

"_Very worthy, you should give him some of my venom that your friend collected," _Ethelinda advised.

"_Um, that got broken,"_ Harry admitted as he slowly moved to where his Professor was.

"_We got into a fight with Riddle and it smashed on my sword. I'm sorry."_

"_It was only excess, it didn't affect me," _Ethelinda assured him.

"_But I can provide more, I know it is prized my Potioneers."_

"_That would be great," _Harry said excitedly as he reached Professor Snape.

"Sir, Ethelinda wants to give you some of her venom as a gift."

"I would deeply appreciate that," Snape said calmly even as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Can she spare some?"

"Yep, she says it's not a problem," Harry said, sounding very chirper for someone about to be spanked.

"Thank her for me Mister Potter and then you'd better prepare yourself," Snape said briskly.

He watched as the boy hissed a response to the Basilisk who seemed to nod in return. The child honestly didn't realise just how creepy it looked to see him conversing with a giant snake. But he wasn't going to tell him that.

"Come Mister Potter, let's get this over with," Snape commanded and Harry moved obediently.

"Professor," Harry suddenly asked as he draped himself over Snape's knee.

"Could I ask a favour?"

"What is it, Mister Potter," Snape asked as he steadied the boy.

"I promised Ethelinda we'd feed her but I'm not sure how to get her a nice big meal," Harry explained.

"Would...would you be able to do that?"

Snape was taken aback by this but also pleased. It was about time Potter started asking adults to help, especially for reasonable requests like this. He nodded at the boy with the huge green eyes before waving his wand in the air.

A misty Patronus formed in the air and he spoke very clearly into it.

"Please bring a large amount of fresh, uncooked meat to the bathroom on the fourth floor. Leave it with the three children who are there, they will know what to do with it. It is needed now, we will sort out how to replace it later."

With that the misty form became a glowing ball of light which sped away.

"Cool, sir," Harry exclaimed.

"But how do you know there'll be kids up there?"

"I have no doubt you're little friends are up there right now," Snape answered sardonically.

"I ensured they would not be able to jump in after us, so they are no doubt waiting."

"That makes sense," Harry said as he gripped Snape's robes.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he sensed, rather than saw Snape raise his hand.

"Prepare yourself, Mister Potter," Snape advised and once he was sure the boy was ready, brought his hand down.

It was over in a remarkably short amount of time though to Harry it felt like a very long time. He'd never been spanked before, the Dursleys had preferred not to touch him, except to maybe swat at him or slap him.

It wasn't as hard as he was expecting but that didn't mean it was easy. He was gripping his teacher's robes in a death grip, biting his lip to keep himself from crying out. Half way through, Snape informed him he didn't need to stay silent, he could make some noise if he wanted.

With Snape's permission, Harry allowed a few yelps to escape his mouth though he was still trying hard not to cry. It would be mortifying to cry in front of his teacher and besides, he hadn't cried in years. There was no point to it, it wasn't as though he'd be comforted.

But as the burning sting being formed on his backside grew, he found it was difficult to stop a few tears from falling. Soon, they were falling fast and furious, but luckily for his dignity, he hadn't started to sob yet.

"I'm finished, Mister Potter," Snape finally announced after bringing his hand down smartly for the last time.

Harry slid off his lap, rubbing at his eyes as his lip trembled. His rear was very sore and he was rubbing at it frantically. He was surprised to find a hanky being pressed into his hands so he could wipe his face properly.

As he was doing this, a cow carcass suddenly came floating down into the Chamber. It seemed the children upstairs had explained what the meat was being used for, for whichever Elf had brought it had levitated it down.

"This is for you, Noble Snake," Snape announced as Ethelinda uncoiled with interest.

"_It's for you,"_ Harry translated and she hissed with satisfaction.

"_Mmm, deliciousssss,"_ she hissed softly, heading for it.

But then she paused and said.

"_You'd better leave before I consume this, some humans find it distasteful."_

As Harry repeated this to Snape, she revealed her long fangs and Harry realised what she was going to do. Harry quickly said to Snape.

"Sir, do you have any vials?"

"Several," he replied, producing them as Ethelinda lowered her great head.

He skilfully caught the dripping venom in several vials, until they were all full. Snape was looking very pleased and Harry was happy that it wasn't because he'd gotten into trouble. He hated it when adults enjoyed seeing that.

"Come, Mister Potter, we'd better go," the Potions Master now said as he bowed to Ethelinda.

"Thank you Ethelinda, I hope we can meet again soon."

"_So do I,"_ she replied after Harry had told her what he'd said.

"How are we going to get up there, sir?" Harry asked before gasping as Snape lifted him up in his arms.

"Like this," he said and with a final nod at the advancing Basilisk. Snape called out a word Harry didn't understand.

A moment later, there was a flash of light as a Phoenix landed on his Professor's shoulder.

"Fawkes," Harry cried before yelping as he and Snape were lifted into the air.

He suddenly remembered that Professor Dumbledore had explained how Phoenixes could carry heavy loads. This was how the fiery coloured bird was lifting them up and through the tunnel. They were going pretty fast and in no time at all, had emerged into the bright light of the bathroom.

"Harry," Hermione exclaimed as they landed, she was clutching the sword that still had the dairy impaled on its tip.

"Are you okay, we were so worried."

"Yeah mate," Ron said who was still holding Ginny in his arms.

"Sorry guys," Harry said sheepishly as he was let down by Snape.

"I...um..."

"Got a little scared," Hermione said knowingly as she handed Harry the sword.

"Yeah," Harry said with a smile

"Come along, we're going to the Hospital Wing," Snape announced, eyeing Ginny with open worry.

"I can carry her," Ron said gruffly before Snape could try to take her.

Snape raised an eyebrow, he'd really been doing that a lot lately. But he simply flicked his wand and suddenly Ginny was a lot lighter in her brother's arms. Ron looked shocked but grateful to the Professor.

Snape chivvied them out of the bathroom as the Chamber once again sealed it's self. Harry kept rubbing his rear absentmindedly as Hermione shot him a concerned look. But he just smiled, letting her know it was okay.

He wasn't sure what he felt about the whole punishment. On the one hand it had been painful and embarrassing. But on the other hand it somehow made him feel more...normal. After all, other kids got it and it was because their parents cared, in most cases anyway. It felt good to know that someone out there cared about him, they wanted him to know that he was worth something.

And...it was nice to be punished because he'd done something stupid, rather than something his cousin had made up.

As soon as they entered the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey predictably, swooped on them. In a matter of moments, they were dressed in hospital gowns and tucked up in bed while she examined them.

"Bruises and cuts mostly," she declared of the trio.

"But...my goodness," she exclaimed as she scanned Ginny with her wand.

"Her magical core is nearly depleted, she's malnourished and has been manhandled by the looks of it."

"Get Minerva in here, now," Snape said grimly.

"And we'd better contact her parents too."

Ginny started to tremble and whimper causing Harry to quickly say.

"It'll be okay, Ginny, we'll tell them it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, we saw that scummy no good Sly...slithering guy," Ron finished hastily as Snape turned his gaze on him.

"We shall wait until everyone is here before you go into details," Snape said as Madam Pomfrey bustled about.

"I'll be back," Snape said to her before sweeping from the room.

For the next hour or so, the kids were tended to by the Mediwitch. Though the trio were healed up pretty quickly, she still insisted they'd need to spend the night there to recover from their _ordeal. _But they didn't really want to go, they wanted to be there for Ginny who was getting paler and paler despite the care she was receiving.

But then the doors banged open and Mr and Mrs Weasley came charging in, followed closely by Professors Snape and McGonagall. By to Harry's surprise, Dumbledore was also among the group, but looking very serious.

"Ginny," Mrs Weasley cried as she made it to her daughter's bed and swept her up into a hug.

Mr Weasley looked very pale as he came to stand behind his wife.

"Oh Ginny, we were told you'd been attacked," Mrs Weasley sobbed, hugging Ginny tightly.

Ginny burst into tears at this, hugging her mother back. But between sobs, she told them that Ron, Harry and Hermione had saved her and without them, she wouldn't be here.

"Oh Ronny,"Mrs Weasley wailed, he gotten out of bed to nervously hover nearby meaning he got grabbed.

"Saving your baby sister, oh my darling boy," she wailed, hugging her

"Mum," Ron groaned but it was clear to all he was enjoying the attention.

Mrs Weasley finally let both of her children go so her husband could now hug them. She then pounced on Harry and Hermione so hard they gasped from the force of her hug. She started crying about how they'd saved her little girl and whatever could she do to repay them.

They mumbled that they didn't want anything, very aware of the teachers' stares. But then Professor McGonagall spoke.

"Would someone be able to tell me just what has been going on here?"

And so they told her the whole story. It wasn't easy talking about the giant spiders or other stuff like that but somehow they managed it. When they got to the bit about Ethelinda, Mrs Weasley nearly had a fit and Professor McGonagall looked like she wasn't far behind.

"A Basilisk?" You faced a Basilisk?"

"It's okay mum," Ron said quickly.

"She wasn't that bad, for a big snake. And we can talk to her now."

"Talk to her," Snape said with high brows.

"How did you accomplish that?"

"She dripped venom onto our tongues," Hermione answered. "And...that gave us the ability to understand her and her to understand us."

"Yeah, it was really weird," Ron added.

The adults were all gaping at them so Harry quickly said.

"We asked her not to attack anyone, we explained the school wasn't in danger anymore."

"Extraordinary," Dumbledore said softly.

"I don't think such a feat has been accomplished in a thousand years."

"Yeah, well," Ron said embarrassed. "It was kind of strange having Harry translate everything."

This brought a smile to everyone's faces and the mood relaxed a bit. However, when the trio explained about Riddle, the temperature literally dropped several degrees.

"He wanted Hermione to give up her life force or something," Ron was saying hotly.

"Said he didn't want to kill a PureBlood."

"He wanted to use me to...to produce more PureBloods," Ginny bit out, even more tears running down her face.

"I-I can't believe I was so stupid."

"You were not stupid, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said gently but firmly.

"Tom was always good at manipulation, do not blame yourself."

Mrs Weasley wrapped her into a tighter hug as the trio finished explained what had happened.

"Fawkes appeared, with the Sorting Hat," Harry said softly. "At first we had no idea why but I...I tried on the hat and asked for help and I got that sword."

He pointed to it where it lay stained with black ink on a table. Dumbledore glanced at it, a smile appearing on face as he examined the ruby encrusted sword.

"Ginny was pointing at that diary," Harry continued. "And that's when we knew what to do."

"My vial got smashed on the sword," Hermione said sadly.

"Ah, Miss Granger, but I think that made all the difference," Dumbledore said with a wide smile.

"For this sword was made by Goblins and it takes in that which only makes it stronger."

"The Basilisk venom made it more powerful?" Hermione questioned, her eyes shining.

"Indeed, that venom is very potent and the only cure is with Phoenix tears."

The golden red bird trilled at this, it had followed them to the Hospital Wing. But now they got back to the story.

"It was really cool," Ron now said with gusto.

"That idiot Riddle disarmed me but he didn't realise I had a bad wand. And then Harry dared him to disarm_ himself _so he tried but it backfired."

He grinned as he remembered.

"Hermione levitated the diary and Harry stabbed it and Riddle exploded."

"My word," Professor McGonagall exclaimed, her hand over her heart.

"You all did very well," Dumbledore now said as Snape rolled his eyes.

"And I think the three of you deserve two hundred points apiece as well as twenty for Miss Weasley's bravery. I also think Special Awards to the School is in order as well."

"They broke about a hundred rules," Snape muttered but no one was paying attention.

Mrs Weasley was hugging her children again as Mr Weasley rubbed his daughter's back. Madam Pomfrey now declared that Ginny would need loads of rest and potions but with some loving care, she'd recover. She requested that the young girl be allowed to settle down now with a Sleeping Potion.

Ginny took it gladly, falling asleep in her mother's arms.

Harry now voiced his concerns about being similar to Tom Riddle which Dumbledore assured him he wasn't.

"It doesn't make you a bad person because the Sorting Hat wanted to put you in Slytherin," Dumbledore said gently.

"Many great wizards have come from that House," he added with a nod to Snape.

"It is rare you find a student who only has one House's qualities."

"That's what we told Ethelinda," Hermione said quietly.

Dumbeldore beamed before saying.

"You may have done well in Slytherin Harry but you are very different from Tom Riddle in all the important ways. You chose a different path from him and in the end, it is out choices that define us."

As Harry digested this, Dumbledore gestured at the sword.

"If you're still unsure about being in Gryffindor, take a look at this sword."

As Harry saw the name Godric Gryffindor emblazoned on the sword, Dumbledore said quietly.

"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that sword from the Hat."

To be continued

_Author's note. The next chapter will continue with this story, which includes Mr Malfoy and Dobby. Find out how that goes next time, until then._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note. Been a while since I updated, sorry for the wait._

_Suggestions are welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

Harry face was alight with happiness, he truly did belong in Gryffindor. Even though he now knew that Slytherin and its House wasn't as evil as he'd been led to believe, it still felt good to know he belonged.

Dumbledore smiled at him and said softly.

"You were all very brave in the face of such danger."

"If reckless," Snape couldn't help but add sternly.

"We're sorry Professor," Hermione said quietly. "But there's no way we could have known Riddle was in our Common Room and he wouldn't have let us run away."

Snape sighed heavily.

"I realise that Miss Granger and you are right, the only thing you could have done in that situation is fight. I admit you did the right thing in that instant and showed real bravery."

As she flushed and the boys grinned, Snape added.

"However, surely you can see that there were plenty of instances where you were all incredibly foolish rather than brave."

They hung their heads at that, he was right, especially when Harry and Ron had confronted those spiders.

"We were just trying to help Hagrid," Ron muttered as Harry suddenly said.

"Professors, what's going to happen to Hagrid, we know he's innocent."

"Don't worry, I'll be taking steps to ensure he's freed," Dumbledore assured them as Mrs Weasley started ushering them back into bed.

"You may be required to give statements about what has happened but rest assured you won't be alone when you do this. Nor will you have to talk very long."

"What about Ginny?" Hermione asked timidly as Mrs Weasley gasped.

"You need not worry, the Ministry will know she was an innocent victim in this," Dumbledore said quietly.

"And what about Ethelinda?" Harry couldn't help but add.

"Will she be okay?"

"She is under Hogwart's protection as a Familiar of one of the original Founders," Snape answered.

"As long as she doesn't leave the grounds, she will be safe and protected. In fact, if she allows it, she could become a source of income for the school, Basilisk venom is very rare and expensive. Even more so for fully mature adults, a lot of research could be done with her cooperation."

"I could talk to her," Harry volunteered. "I think she might help as long as she was well looked after and not pestered."

"Rest assured she would be treated like a queen," Snape said firmly before adding.

"And while we're on the subject of speaking to snakes, I'd advise you two."

He indicated Ron and Hermione.

"To keep your new ability a secret, it would not do for it to get out. There are plenty of greedy men and women who would kill for such a gift and only exploit it."

"We promise, sir," Hermione said firmly as Ron nodded.

Snape knew that they would, Granger was sensible and Weasley knew how much stigma was attached to snake speaking, he wouldn't risk something like that on himself.

"See that you do," he said curtly before turning to Dumbledore.

"We need to move fast Headmaster, before Fudge can try to use this to his advantage."

"You're right Severus," Dumbledore said gravelly. "I shall set off immediately to the Ministry, I shall leave you and Minerva in charge."

He turned back to Mr and Mrs Weasley and said with a smile.

"Everything will be alright, you just concentrate on helping Miss Weasley recover."

"We will, thank you Albus," Mrs Weasley said hoarsely, she could barely take in all that had happened.

Dumbledore smiled before taking his leave.

"You three, into bed," Snape barked out as soon as Dumbledore was gone.

"You will remain here tonight, no wandering or mystery solving allowed."

"Yes sir," they said quietly, getting into their comfy beds.

After giving them a stern look, Snape turned to McGonagall and said.

"I will go and make sure all is well within the school and make some arrangements for Ethelinda's keep."

"Very well Severus, I think I will remain here with Molly and Arthur for the time being," she replied and Snape nodded before sweeping from the room.

Nothing much happened after that, the trio lay in bed, being fussed over by Mrs Weasley and Madam Pomfrey. They didn't mind, it felt nice to relax in a warm bed and recover from all that had happened. They were worried about Ginny but since she was sleeping peacefully, didn't dwell on it.

But when Mr and Mrs Weasley left to talk, Ron suddenly voice something that had been bothering him.

"How did Ginny get that diary?" he wondered out loud.

"I don't know but it must have been sometime this year," Hermione reasoned.

"But...I'm not sure if we should go looking, we're already getting off with what we've already done."

"We can ask Ginny," Harry said reasonably.

"I think she'll be more likely to tell us and then we can tell the teachers."

"Good idea," Ron said with a yawn, settling back down against his pillow.

"I think I'm going to have a sleep, all that fighting took it out of me."

"I think I need a nap too," Hermione admitted softly as Harry smiled.

"We could all do with a sleep," he said, snuggling down into the softness of his bed.

So much had happened that day, he still couldn't believe it. This morning had just been another ordinary day and look at how it had turned out. He and his friends had solved the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, spoke with a Basilisk and fought Voldemort. It was a lot to take in and he soon found himself drifting off to sleep like the others.

A few hours later, he awoke to the sound of voices.

"Hagrid is innocent? My dear Poppy, you must be mistaken."

"I am not Gilderoy," came Madam Pomfrey's irritated voice.

"It has been proven that he is completely innocent and that is why Professor Dumbledore is now working to have him freed."

Harry opened his eyes and glanced over to see Professor Lockhart speaking with Madam Pomfrey. The Medi Witch looked flustered, it was obvious Lockhart was being annoying.

"I could have sworn he was the one," the blond man was now saying but Madam Pomfrey brushed him off with a.

"Yes, yes, Gilderoy, I know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have patients to take care of."

At this point, Harry glanced over and saw Hermione was awake but she was keeping silent just like him. And as he looked further, he saw that Ron was also awake. At first he was surprised but then realised it must be close to dinner time and Ron never slept through that.

He turned back to his Professor who looked like he was doing some serious thinking.

"A Basilisk in this school. Well, well, this could be useful...," he murmured to himself once Madam Pomfrey had walked away.

He glanced over at Harry's bed and Harry pretended to be asleep.

But then Lockhart came over and started shaking Harry, so that he was forced to pretend to wake up. Blinking up at him, he was nearly dazzled by a brilliant white smile. He tried not to groan out loud.

"Harry my boy, I just heard about all the exciting news," Lockhart said in a thrilling whisper, still smiling widely.

"Uh...," Harry said uncertainly.

"You were talking with that big snake weren't you Harry," Lockhart continued.

"Have you any idea how big this is?"

"Uh, I don't really care about that," Harry tried to say but Lockhart continued.

"But you should Harry, this could be incredible for you, for me."

"What do you mean, sir?" Harry said very slowly, wondering what on earth Lockhart was on about.

"Harry, don't you know there are no Basilisks that size and age alive today?" Lockhart said excitedly, his voice a thrilling whisper.

"Think of all the publicity this is going to get, we'll be famous."

"I thought I already was," Harry, pointedly not mentioning Lockhart, the man was just so annoying and arrogant.

Lockhart's smile faltered for a moment but then it was back in place.

"Well yes, but this would be an actual achievement, Harry," he said enthusiastically.

"Just think, this would be the first Basilisk in captivity, it can be studied, it's venom used, why perhaps it could even be tamed...,"

"I don't think so, sir," Harry cut in before Lockhart go any further.

"Ethelinda's not a pet and she's not going to be treated like a zoo exhibit."

"Now, I didn't say that," Lockhart said, starting to sound flustered.

"I wasn't explaining right, I just wanted you to understand what an opportunity this is," Lockhart began again but Harry had heard enough.

"I'm sorry Professor, I'm not interested," the boy said firmly.

"Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore will be taking care of Ethelinda and I'll help if they need it. But apart from that, I'm not going to interfere with her."

Lockhart's face fell with both disappointment and annoyance. But then he managed a very weak smile and said.

"Well, never mind Harry."

He paused and then said brightly.

"How about you at least show me the creature's lair, Madam Pomfrey was a bit stretchy on the details."

"I'm sorry, Professor, I don't think I should...," Harry started to say but Lockhart was already pulling him from his bed.

"Come on now Harry, won't take long at all," Lockhart said, trying to pull Harry along but the black haired boy resisted.

"Professor, what does it matter?" he asked, tugging at the grip on his wrist.

"You've dealt with plenty of creatures, one more isn't really going to make a difference."

"You don't understand, this could make my career," Lockhart said excitedly.

"And I'd be the one show it to the world, I'd be famous."

"You're already famous," Harry said in exasperation, not getting angry.

"Did you defeat those dark animals or not?"

"Well...I...of course I did," Lockhart stuttered.

"Doesn't sound like it," Ron now spoke up, he couldn't be silent any longer.

When Lockhart failed to meet his eye, Hermione gasped out.

"But...all your books Professor, you said that you'd defeated loads of dark creatures."

"Books can be misleading," Lockhart said lightly as Hermione looked horrified.

"You wrote them," Harry said angrily, jerking his arm out of Lockhart's grasp.

"My dear children, use your common sense, my books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done them," Lockhart said defensively as they all stared at him in shock.

"So you've just taken credit for what others have done?" Hermione said, utterly shocked he could do something like that.

"Well, why not," Lochkhart said annoyed. "That Witch who defeated the Banshee had a hair lip, it wouldn't have looked at all good on the front cover. Anyway, it wasn't as though they were using their achievements, many would never have been heard of if not for me."

"You're a fraud," Harry snarled, looking at his teacher with disgust.

"A coward who couldn't even try to do something himself."

"Now see here," Lockhart said, drawing himself up. "You don't think any of this was easy do you? I had to track these people down and get all the details and then wipe their memories. If there's one thing I do happen to be good at, it's my memory charms."

He now brought out his wand, pointing it at Harry.

"I'm sorry Harry but I can't have you three telling the world this, I'd never sell another book."

But Harry leapt back, neatly vaulting over his bed as the curse missed him by an inch. Ron and Hermione had also ducked down, they didn't want to be the next target.

"Come on now, there's no point hiding," Lockhart was saying.

"I won't take all your memories, just the ones of this incident."

"Lair," Ron hissed, as they tried to think of a way out of it.

Madam Pomfrey was out of the room, they were on their own. Their wands had been put in a cupboard that they had no hope of reaching without exposing themselves to Lockhart. But they could hear Lockhart approaching and knew they had to do something.

So Harry did the only thing that popped into his head.

He lunged for the sword of Gryffindor that stay lay nearby, book attached to its end and swung round with it as Lockhart tried to curse him. The curse hit the sword, sending Harry crashing back but rebounded, straight at Lockhart.

The force was so powerful, he was knocked off his feet and sent flying a few feet, wand flying out of his hand.

"What in Merlin's name is going on in here?"

The kids turned to see Snape striding into the room, his dark eyes snapping with anger.

"Potter, what are you doing with that sword?"

"Professor Lockhart tried to curse him, Professor," Hermione said breathlessly, she was still shocked at what had happened.

Snape's brows knitted together as he stared at the groaning heap that was Professor Lockhart.

"Yeah, he was trying to wipe our memories," Ron said hotly, standing by Harry's side.

"And why would he want to do that?" Snape asked silkily.

"Because we found out he's a fraud," Harry said grimly, lowering the sword as he explained what happened.

Snape's eyes bulged with anger but he didn't say anything. Instead, he went over to Lockhart and gave him a kick in the side.

"Ow," Lockhart said, but his eyes were glazed over and he didn't seem to know where he was.

"As Dumbledore might say, impaled with his own sword," Snape said with relish at the prone figure.

Turning back to the three of them, he said in a softer voice.

"Get back into bed, you'll catch you're death."

They obediently did so, Harry being careful to place the sword back where he'd taken it. He shook his head as he sent a summons to Madam Pomfrey.

"How do you three manage to get into such trouble?"

"We don't know, sir," Hermione said sheepishly but he wasn't really scolding.

"I think I attract trouble sir," Harry said with a wry smile which made Snape's lip twitch in an upwards fashion.

"Hmm, I hope you don't attract this much trouble, next year," he said briskly as Madam Pomfrey came rushing into the room.

"Goodness, what happened?" she demanded as she hurried over to Lockhart.

"Lockhart tried to Oblivate their memories and they fought back," Snape said coolly a she looked shocked such a thing could happen in her Hospital Wing.

"Awful man," she declared as she forced the confused man into a bed.

"Hmm, I think he may need to go to Saint Mungo's, that was a powerful curse he was hit with."

"So we'll be getting a new teacher next year?" Ron asked eagerly, he was sick of their rubbish Defence teachers, especially seeing as he and his friends had fought against Voldemort twice now.

"Indeed you will be Mister Weasley," Snape said dryly as Mrs Weasley returned, levitating a large tray heaped with food.

"I stopped by the kitchens," she said with a smile as the trio sat bolt upright.

"You three need your strength after all that fighting."

"Mum, I love you," Ron said seriously as she took it to a table and started arranging trays for them.

"I know, Ronnie," she said fondly as she handed him a heaped tray which he tucked into with gusto.

The trio had an enjoyable meal while Mrs Weasley talked to Snape about what he'd recommend in the way of treatment for Ginny. Mr Weasley also appeared and joined in the conversation, his expression very serious. But just as they were finishing, the doors burst open and an entourage of people entered.

In front was Dumbledore with Cornelius Fudge behind him with a reporter at his side. There was also a grizzled man Harry didn't recognise and lastly Mr Malfoy with Dobby bringing up the rear.

"He's the Malfoy's elf?" Harry said in astonishment as the group of adults made their way over.

"Now see here Dumbledore, you can't keep a dangerous animal like that in the school," Fudge was saying hotly.

"The Basilisk is no longer a threat," Dumbledore said calmly.

"She will now truly protect the school from those that wish it wrong."

"Are you sure it's safe?" the grizzled man with a mane of greying red hair asked.

"Quite sure," Dumbledore said, shooting the trio a twinkle.

"We have a Parseltongue who can converse with her, she won't attack any more students."

"And who is this student?" Mr Malfoy said delicately, his cold eyes falling on Harry.

"Ah, that information is confidential, Lucius," Dumbledore said smoothly though the grizzled man hadn't missed the exchange.

Fudge however had, he was still dithering about Ethelinda.

"But what about the attacker, Dumbledore?" he now demanded.

"You said you'd caught it, isn't that right Scrimgour?"

"It is," Scrimgour said gruffly, eying Dumbledore shrewdly.

"So who was it?" demanded Mr Malfoy who Mr Weasley was regarding with open dislike.

"Voldemort," Dumbledore said simply.

"Ah," Mr Malfoy said as Fudge flinched.

"Y-you know who?" Fudge stuttered. "But...but that's impossible."

"Not for him sadly," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "But this wasn't actually Voldemort, it was a weapon that he planted a memory of himself in which opened the Chamber of Secrets."

"But how did he manage to open the Chamber and control that serpent?" Scrimgour asked slowly, watching Dumbledore closely.

"By using a vessel," Dumbledore said very sadly.

"By using an innocent girl, he was able to commit these terrible crimes for beyond the grave as it well."

"And who was this victim?" Scrimgour said, looking straight at the sleeping Ginny who had Mrs Weasley by her side.

"Ginny Weasley," Dumbledore said softly.

"But thanks to three brave students, she was rescued before it was too late."

"I assume you mean these three," Scrimgour said as the reported started eagerly writing all of this down.

"I do, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger showed incredible bravery," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"We are all very grateful to them."

The trio smiled nervously as all the adults stared at them, Mr Malfoy's lip curling into a sneer. But Harry's attention was on Dobby who kept nodding at his master and then hitting himself on the head.

He was clearly trying to tell Harry something, but what?

"But how did her control that girl?" Fudge now demanded.

"I don't understand it."

Harry saw Snape smirk at this but turned his attention back to the group.

"With Voldemort's school diary," Dumbledore said, indicating the damaged book where it lay with the sword.

"He recorded how he'd opened the Chamber during his school years and how he framed Rubeus Hagrid. Speaking of which, we need our Gamekeeper back."

"Yes, yes," Fudge said, waving his hand in dismissal.

"But I still don't understand..."

"She was possessed," Dumbledore said, his voice with a touch of coldness.

"And it is only thanks to these children that we know this, otherwise she may have been blamed for all that has happened."

Dobby was still gesturing to Mr Malfoy and Harry suddenly understood.

"But how did she get hold of such an object?" Fudge demanded.

"Mr Malfoy gave it to her," Harry said aloud.

As everyone turned to stare at him, he said.

"That day in the bookshop, you had hold of her books, you put them into her cauldron. You slipped her the diary."

Mr Weasley's face went bright red with rage but he didn't say anything, he just watched. Mrs Weasley looked like she'd like nothing better than to prove it.

Mr Malfoy sneered.

"Why don't you prove it, boy," he sneered as everyone stared at him in shock as Harry looked at him boldly.

"I'm afraid no one can do that," Dumbledore said calmly.

"But I would strongly advise you not to hand out anymore of Voldemort's old school things."

"Now wait a minute," Fudge interrupted.

"You can't just go around accusing...Lucius is a respected member of society..."

"As is Arthur Weasley," Scrimgour said. "But as Dumbledore says there's no proof."

He turned to Mr Weasley and said.

"You'll just have to settle for a Wizard's duel."

"It would be a pleasure," Mr Weasley said in a quiet but dangerous voice.

"You really think you'd stand a chance against me?" Mr Malfoy questioned.

"Oh yes," Mr Weasley said, standing up.

"And it doesn't matter, Molly will be my Second and she'll make you pay for what you did to our daughter."

Mrs Weasley's eyes were burning, she would indeed make him pay.

"But not right now," Mr Weasley said quietly. "Now we must take care of Ginny but we will be coming for you, Lucius."

Mr Malfoy sneered.

"I look forward to it," before turning to Fudge.

"I think I'd better depart before anyone else throws an accusation at me."

Fudge nodded distractedly and Mr Malfoy swept away, kicking poor Dobby as he went.

Harry paused, thinking hard. And then he had a brainwave.

"I shouldn't have said that to Mr Malfoy," he suddenly said, making everyone stare at him.

"It wasn't very polite, may I go apologise?"

"You feeling alright, mate?" Ron asked in concern as Snape regarded Harry shrewdly.

"Very well, Mr Potter," Snape finally said, after sharing a look with Dumbledore.

"You may go."

"Thank you," Harry said, grabbing the diary and rushing after Mr Malfoy.

"Mr Malfoy, Mr Malfoy," Harry called, after pausing to take something and place it inside the diary.

"You forgot this, sir," he said as Mr Malfoy stopped and turned to him.

Before the man could do anything, Harry had handed him the book. Mr Malfoy scowled and handed it to Dobby, telling him to keep it. He turned back to Harry.

"What, are you hoping for a confession, Potter?"

"No, I thought I'd wish you luck with your duel, you'll need it," Harry said with a cheeky grin.

Mr Malfoy sneered.

"You're just as arrogant as you're father, I'd watch that Potter, or you'll go the same way as him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do. Come Dobby."

"Open it," Harry whispered before Dobby could obey.

Dobby curiously opened it to reveal a rather smelly sock. But the way Dobby's ears rose and his face lit up, it might as well have been a priceless treasure.

"A sock," Dobby whispered, tears in his eyes as he examined it.

"Dobby?" Mr Malfoy called, confused as to why his elf wasn't following.

"Master has given Dobby a sock," Dobby said loudly so his now former master could hear.

"What, no I didn't...," Mr Malfoy's voice trailed off as he saw what Dobby was wearing.

His eyes then drifted to Harry who was only wearing one sock. Harry simply smiled at Mr Malfoy whose face went pink with anger.

"You lost me my servant, boy."

He suddenly pulled a wand out of his cane and aimed it right at Harry. But before he could do anything else, Dobby snapped his fingers and Mr Malfoy was blasted across the corridor. He landed heavily as Dobby placed himself protectively in front of Harry.

"You shall not hurt Harry Potter," Dobby declared as Mr Malfoy got to his feet.

"You're parents were meddlesome fools too, Potter," he hissed and he brushed himself down.

"And one day soon, you will meet the same sticky end."

And with that he swept away.

"Harry Potter freed Dobby," Dobby now said in awe as he gazed up at Harry.

"What can Dobby ever do to repay Harry Potter?"

"Just promise never to try to save my life, Dobby," Harry said with a grin, pleased his plan had worked.

Dobby chuckled sheepishly before bidding Harry goodbye and disappearing with a crack.

Harry picked up the diary that Mr Malfoy had left, intending to take it back to Professor Dumbledore. He couldn't wait to tell Ron and Hermione what he had done.

And he couldn't wait for the duel between Mr Malfoy and Mr Weasley.

_Author's note. Hope everyone enjoyed that, not sure what the next chapter will be about. Anyway, until next time._


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note. This should be the final part for this particular story arc, I welcome suggestions about what the other chapter stories could be about._

_Heh, hoping you all know what Celtic style means, for those who don't, it's the people, not the football team, lol._

_Enjoy and please review._

Harry rushed back into the Hospital Wing, his face lit up by a huge grin. The adults all turned as he rushed in, his single bare foot slapping against the tiled floor. He couldn't quite believe what he'd just done but Mister Malfoy certainly deserved it. Because apart from anything else Ethelinda could have easily attacked a Slytherin even Mister Malfoy's own son.

"Well, did you apologise to Lucius?" Fudge asked, still very much frazzled by all that had happened.

"Yes sir," Harry said cheerfully before adding. "I also wished him luck for his duel."

"Oh, he'll need it," Mrs Weasley practically growled as Fudge said.

"Oh, that was very good of you Harry."

"Did anything else happen?" Snape asked shrewdly, knowing there had to be a reason behind the young Gryffindor's grin.

"Not much," Harry said, still cheerful. "Except Mister Malfoy decided to free Dobby."

"Dobby?" Fudge repeated as Snape's eyebrow's rose, the Weasleys looked ecstatic and Scrimgour thoughtful.

"He freed the family House Elf."

"Yep," Harry replied as Ron and Hermione silently cheered. "It was a very sudden thing, sir."

Fudge just goggled at him, he simply couldn't understand why a Pureblood would give up a House Elf like that. Once you lost one, you couldn't get them back and it could easily reflect very badly on you. Especially if the Elf hadn't done anything, it was just a very odd thing.

"I'm sure it was," Snape now said sardonically as the Minister puzzled over Mister Malfoy's sudden action.

"Come along Harry, back into bed," Mrs Weasley now called, gesturing over to Harry who obediently came over and climbed into bed.

She lovingly tucked him in, stroking his forehead with a smile.

"You're a good boy, Harry dear," she whispered before straightening to listen to what the other adults were talking about.

"What are we going to do about that snake, it can't go wondering about the place," Fudge was now exclaiming with several exaggerated gestures.

"She won't be, Cornelius," Dumbledore replied soothingly. "Hogwarts is made up of many levels and secret passageways, we shall convert an area that isn't being used for Ethlinda's use, somewhere warm and dry. And we shall place heavy protections to ensure no students stumbles across her accidently."

"You could use the third floor?" Ron couldn't help but suggest, earning a smile from Dumbledore.

"Indeed Mister Weasley that will be a good option as a site."

Ron blushed under the praise even as his father gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Just keep this snake out of sight until all the students are gone," Scrimgour said, his voice a carrying a growl, but Harry guessed his voice always sounded like that. "As long as everything is set up by the time they all get back, I don't see a problem. I'll send you Auror Moody to help out with security."

"Mad Eye Moody, he's a famous Auror," Ron whispered to his friends. "One of the best they say."

As Harry looked a little curious, Hermione said.

"An Auror's like a Muggle Detective."

Now Harry smiled, he understood.

"I hope we'll still be able to talk with her," Hermione now said anxiously. "I mean, she was a bit intimidating but I did enjoy seeing her."

"We will, we're the only ones who can talk to her," Ron said knowingly. "They'll need us in case she wants anything."

Both Hermione and Harry nodded before focusing again on the adults. Fudge was speaking again.

"Very well, very well, I'll leave it in your hands Dumbledore, you're in charge of the creature. I'll expect regular reports of course."

"Of course," Dumbledore said with a serene smile.

Fudge nodded, he appeared to be completely overwhelmed by what had happened. Scrimgour meanwhile didn't seem bothered at all and simply said.

"We'd better get back to the Ministry and leave things in your hands, Albus."

"Thank you Rufus, I will send you an Owl once we're ready to begin sorting out Ethlinda's keep," Dumbledore said warmly as he escorted the two men out.

Just as they'd gone, Professor McGonagall appeared. She strode over briskly and said.

"I see Cornelius has been to bluster about our resident Basilisk."

"He certainly did," Snape said with a smirk. "But Dumbledore managed to convince him to leave it in our hands."

This made her smile in satisfaction before turning to Dumbledore and saying.

"Everything is ready for the Feast tonight, and an owl has been sent requesting that Hagrid be released from Azkaban."

She looked both energised and exhausted as she said this, the day's events were a lot to take in. She now shot a smile at the three children, saying gently.

"I also announced the end of year exams have been cancelled in celebration."

As the boys whooped in delight, Hermioner groaned loudly, she'd been looking forward to them. Professor McGonagall came over to her and said gently.

"Don't worry Miss Granger, your school work over the past year will be used to give you an overall grade, but I don't think you have much to worry about."

This made Hermione smile, she really did care about her grades and was pleased they wouldn't be dismissed. Ron now asked eagerly.

"Can we go to the feast tonight, Professor?"

"If you're parents have no objections, then you certainly may," She replied with a smile as Ron turned to his parents with puppy dog eyes.

"Of course you can go Ronnie," Mrs Weasley said fondly as Mr Weasley added.

"You're brothers are very anxious to see you, they've been very worried."

Ron grinned at this, it was nice to know his brothers had been worried about them, he sometimes felt they forgot about him. It would be nice to have their sole attention for once as he told them how he and his friends save Ginny.

Dumbledore beamed at how well things were going before asking softly.

"If it's not too much trouble, I was wondering if I could meet Ethelinda? So I could ascertain just what she needs for a new home inside Hogwarts."

"Sure," Harry asked brightly as Hermione and Ron nodded.

"Minerva, Severus, will you come too?" Dumbledore asked his staff and they nodded.

"I'll stay with Ginny, Albus," Mrs Weasley said softly, she just couldn't bear to let her youngest out of her sight.

"And I'll go talk with the boys," Mr Weasley said before adding. "And I need to arrange this Wizard's duel too."

"You're welcome to have it here," Dumbledore said with a smile. "We can ensure Lucius doesn't try to bring any nasty surprises with him or try o set up any traps."

The Weasley patriarch nodded grimly.

"Thank you," he said, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder, clearly he was going to have a moment with her before leaving.

"Shall we?" Dumbledore said, the kids had pulled on some clean robes and shoes.

It didn't matter they were more hospital gown type robes, most of the students would likely come down to the Great Hall in their pyjamas as it'd be quite late by the time the Feast was organised. Even House Elves couldn't instantly produce food out of nowhere, they'd need a couple of hours.

"I want you all straight back here once you're done," Madam Pomfrey called as she waved her wand over Ginny, checking her status.

"Yes Madam Pomfrey," the kids chorused as their Professors led them away.

"How big is she?" Professor McGonagall couldn't help but ask as they walked.

"Huge," Ron answered. "She could easily swallow a cow in one bite."

As the elderly witch looked a little faint, Hermione quickly said.

"She really is nice Professor, once you've gotten over her size, its fine. She's a delight to talk to, really."

"I'll take your word for it," the Gryffindor Head said with a small smile.

"Perhaps when we are talking with her, it would be best if one of you translated what she is saying while another translated for us," Snape now suggested.

"An excellent idea Severus," Dumbledore said with a beam. "Perhaps young Harry can translate Ethelinda and..."

"Hermione better do that sir," Ron said quickly. "She talks better than me."

"You talk fine Ron," Hermione assured him. "You said some very intelligent things to Ethelinda."

Ron blushed at the praise and mumbled.

"I still think you should do it, you're really good at that sort of thing."

She gave him a warm smile, causing the teachers to glance knowingly at each other. Soon, these children would be teenagers and learning all about matters of the heart. At least they were off to a good start, some kids had no idea how to interact with the opposite sex.

Eventually, they arrived at the Myrtle's bathroom which for once the ghost didn't seem to be occupying. Harry had never seen her in another part of the castle but he supposed that didn't mean she didn't go to other parts, she probably just liked to keep out of sight. Well, he had seen her at the Deathday Party but that had been a special event.

Harry cleared his throat, concentrating as he spoke the words to open the Chamber. As soon as he'd done this, the teachers watched in awe as the circular sink separated and rose up, revealing a massive hole. Harry stepped a little closer and called down as loudly as he could.

"_Ethelinda, are you there? The headmaster would like to talk with you if that's okay."_

There was a pause and then Harry could hear something moving, the sound echoed by the tunnel's walls until he made out it was slithering. The great snake had heard him and was now coming out, her purpose at long last not a deadly one.

"She's coming," Harry said, backing away so that the Basilisk would have enough room to manoeuvre.

Everyone took a few steps back, even though they didn't have to worry about being petrified, it was still a good idea to give the giant snake some space. But even for those who had already seen her, it was hard not to gasp out in awe as the great head of the snake emerged from the hole, followed swiftly by the rest of her lithe body.

She raised herself as high as she could go, allowing her body to curl around the open space before settling back down on top of her coils. Her yellow eyes were glazed with the protective film but even then, they still seem luminescent. Her long tongue flicked in and out, tasting the air as she regarded them.

"_How have you, young onessss?"_ she hissed in question and Harry quickly said.

"_We're great, did you enjoy your meal?"_ he asked politely, smiling up at her.

"_Mmm, it was the bessst I have had in a long time,"_ she said softly before looking at the teachers.

"_Who have we here?" _she asked and Hermione quickly translated.

Dumbledore offered her a very sweeping bow.

"My dear lady, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts."

Harry quickly told Ethelinda this and she dipped her head in greeting.

"I am Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House," Professor McGongall now said.

"_Gryffindor hmm,"_ Ethelinda said in a teasing tone. _"You have worthy, if rather bold students."_

"I know," Professor McGonagall said with smile, those children were certainly something.

"I hope you don't mind us calling you up like this," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "But now we know of your existence, we hope we can get to know you better."

"_Professor Dumbledore's wondering if you want to live somewhere else,"_ Harry asked after translating.

"_Maybe someplace nice and warm, where you'd have more place and be able to leave more easily."_

"_That does sound appealing, would there be easy access to food?" _she asked as she considered this.

"_Oh yeah," _Harry said earnestly. _"We've got a gamekeeper called Hagrid, he really loves magical creatures, well any creature. During the holidays and stuff, he'd make sure you'd have everything you need."_

Harry was sure his big friend would get over the fact Ethelinda had unintentionally caused his expulsion, he really did love dangerous creatures that much. Harry knew he would probably never quite understand this, not after Aragog but still knew Hagrid meant no harm. And, well, somebody needed to stick up for these creatures.

"_I would enjoy leaving this place and roaming free,"_ she admitted softly and Harry quickly said.

"_You'd be able to do that when the students are gone, there's barely anyone here during the summer."_

"_Ah, to enjoy the ssssun again," _she said dreamily and Harry knew she was hooked on the idea.

"_Very well, what would the conditions be?"_ she now asked and after getting the translation. Dumbledore outlined his plan.

It was a good one, she would have her own large are for her use, including a pool of water for her to drink from and meals delivered whenever she wanted them. During the summer, she'd be able to go outside, though she'd keep far away from Hagrid's roosters.

They'd introduce her to the gamekeeper so he could attend to her needs and there would be a warm spot where she could sleep during the winter. There would be a warded door that would prevent students accidently stumbling across her but would also allow the trio to visit.

Harry grinned broadly as they talked, he really didn't regret his special ability any more.

The next day

The next morning started very sleepily for most of the castle inhabitants, after that late night feast, they'd all needed a lie in. But for, today was a very important day and they weren't going to waste it lying around in bed. Harry had gotten up near lunchtime and had decided to wander down to the Hospital Wing, to make sure everything was okay with Ginny.

Although she'd managed to attend the feast for a little while, she'd left it early so she could get a good night's sleep. She'd mostly be allowed to go as a way to help boost her spirits and therefore her recovery. Harry did hope she got better, he couldn't imagine what he'd do if Voldemort ever managed to control him like that.

But despite the fact it would take her a long time to recover, at least she had her parents and brothers to support her. Fred and George had spent the night telling her jokes, showing her they still loved her and didn't blame her. Even Percy in his rather formal way expressed how devastated he'd have been if she'd been taken away and how thankful he was she hadn't been.

Ron received a lot of praise from his parents, which Harry was sure had done his friend a lot of good. His best friend sometimes felt a bit worthless, having to compete with his brothers and having both famous and very smart friends. But he had surely proved himself the day before, and to his credit, gave credit to his friends, not just himself.

Hermione's face had been scarlet when Dumbledore explained how she'd solved the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, it had earned her many looks of awe. The students didn't know everything that had happened, all they knew was a person named Riddle had been behind the attacks and had tried to kidnap Ginny Weasley. Dumbledore only said that she'd stumbled across his plot by accident, which was true enough and that Riddle had tried to silence her thus.

But the trio had managed to save her and discover the Chamber's entrance, although Dumbledore would not reveal it, not wanting people to try and break into it. He did reveal that it had been a Basilisk who'd been Slytherin's monster but the students weren't to worry about it, the matter had been taken care of.

Harry and his friends had been pestered for details but thanks to the other Weasley's presence, had been saved from giving anything but a watered down version. Harry knew this wouldn't stop rumours and speculation but as it was only a few days until the end of term, wasn't too bothered.

With no exams to worry about, he could just relax with his friends and enjoy the end of his Second year without worrying about anything. He hoped he could visit Hagrid at some point, his friend had arrived late to the feast but in very good spirits. Harry and co had assured Hagrid his hint had been useful but that they didn't think they should bother Aragog and his family again.

None of them had had the heart to tell Hagrid what had almost happened, although Harry suspected Snape probably would at some point. He felt that his relationship with his Potions Professor was much better than it had been before. The man was still snarky and likely to hand out severe punishment but Harry thought he understood him a bit better now.

And it was nice to know Snape wasn't after his blood like he'd thought last year.

"Harry dear, you're up early."

Harry smiled as he entered the Hospital Wing, Mrs Weasley didn't miss a trick. She was wearing unusual robes today, they only went to her knees and were tightly bound around her waist. Actually, what she wore looked more like a tunic with very loose trousers underneath which were bound above her ankles. She was wearing very sturdy looking brown boots which were tightly knotted.

The colour was Gryffindor red and gold with a strange crest over her left breast pocket. As he came closer, he saw that her slightly busy red hair had been bound up also, frankly, she looked ready for some sort of fight. As he approached, she smiled and asked.

"How do you like my duelling robes, Harry?"

"They're really good," Harry said honestly and they were. It was interesting to know Wizards had just as many different kinds of clothes as Muggles did, even if they had a very Medieval feel to them.

"This is the Weasley family crest," Mrs Weasley now said proudly, pointing to said crest which now Harry was closer, could see it was a red weasel holding a spear. It was very cool looking, the weasel's form almost snaked around the spear in Celtic style.

"I wonder Harry dear, could you help me with the finishing touches?" she now asked, holding up some red ribbon.

"Sure," Harry said and she smiled.

"Good boy, I just need you to bind up my wrists, flapping sleeves aren't good for duels."

As he did as he asked, he said.

"So, you're ready to duel Mr Malfoy?"

"I certainly am," she said with almost a growl in her voice. "That man needs a good lesson, one I shall be able to teach."

Harry grinned, Mr Malfoy did need a lesson although there was something bothering him. As he finished with Mrs Weasleys wrists, he asked softly.

"Mrs Weasley, if this is a proper Wizard's duel, are you going to...kill him?"

She sighed heavily at this but said.

"Despite the fact he wouldn't deserve anything less, we are not like him Harry. I would only kill if there was no other choice but that's not today. Besides," she added grimly.

"If he lives, I can _really_ make him pay for what he did."

Harry mentally promised never to get on her bad side.

"Molly?" came a voice and Harry turned to see Mr Weasley emerging from a door that contained the Hospital Wing's bathroom.

He too was wearing duelling robes and even with his glasses, managed to look very impressive. He had a determined glint in his eyes, the same one his wife had and Harry was sure Mr Malfoy was in for one touch duel.

And he wasn't wrong.

Later that day

"I can't believe this is really happening," Ron whispered to his friends as they sat watching the duellist get ready.

The duel was taking place above the Quiddith pitch, on two enchanted platforms that where hovering so that they were level with the stands. Those stands were packed with students, just about all of them had never seen a proper duel before and were eager to see it. All they knew was that Lucius Malfoy had insulted the Weasleys in such a fashion, that a Wziard duel was necessary to restore honour.

Dumbledore was doing his part to keep Ginny's involvement in the Chamber of Secrets as quiet as possible and so far, was doing a pretty good job. She was surrounded by her brothers, as family of one of the duellists, they were sitting in the teacher's box, which had the best view. Since Harry and Hermione were as good as family, they'd also been allowed to join them.

Draco Malfoy was also there and he was looking sour. The trio weren't sure just how much he'd known about the Chamber but something told them he'd known nothing about Ginny. Otherwise, he'd have been sure to make some snide comment but all he did was shoot them a rather hateful look from Snape's side.

He didn't know how his family ended up in a duel with the Weasleys but he was sure the Golden trio was behind it somehow. Sadly, his father was unlikely to tell him especially if he lost although that naturally wasn't very likely to happen. His father was a respected Pureblood with a proper sense of pride, how could poor Bloodtraitors beat him?

"I do hope they'll be okay," Hermione said anxiously. "Malfoy's Second doesn't look very nice."

"Yeah, he looks part Troll, that's probably why he was picked," Ron said darkly in agreement as they looked at the silent, brutish looking man who was meant to be Mr Malfoy's Second.

"I think he might be Crabbe's father," Harry whispered.

"Figures," Ron muttered, remembering the duel they'd set up in First year, when Draco had chosen Crabbe for his Second. The irony wasn't lost on any of them.

"So, what happens when one of them wins?" Hermione now asked softly, the duellists weren't quite ready yet.

"If they don't kill the other, they demand a form of payment," Ron answered quietly. "It's normally money of some sort but if there's a lot of bad blood, then it'll be something else."

They were silent now, each wondering what the payment would end up being. Because of course, there was no way the Weasleys could lose, they just couldn't. Mr Malfoy couldn't be allowed to get away with what he did, so many students could have been horribly killed.

"Their starting," Hermione whispered now as an official duellist referee from the Minster, mounted on a broom hovered between Mr Weasley and Mr Malfoy who were ready for action. Behind both the main duellists, their Second waited, wands not drawn as of yet.

The referee raised a red flag, even as his broom rose up, making him higher than the platforms. There was a series of protective spells around the platforms so that neither the crowd nor the referee would be injured by stray spells.

And now the referee called for them to bow to each other, still holding the flag high. They did so very stiffly, both keeping their faces upturned to she could glare at the other. Mutual hate blazed in both eyes, this wasn't going to be a very clean duel.

And then the referee had dropped the flag.

"Bombardo!" yelled Mr Weasley as Mr Malfoy shouted.

"Diffindo!"

The duel was on and it was a brutal one. The two men run all over the place, shooting vicious sounding spells at each other, most Harry had never even heard of. There were explosions and brightly coloured flashes of light, it was like nothing Harry had ever seen before.

Hermone was desperately clutching both her friends, terrified for Mr Weasleys. Ron grimly held her back, his face white even as he screamed encouragement along with his family for his father. All the students and teachers were making some sort of noise, cheering on the men who were fighting each other.

As Mr Weasley dived to avoid a jet of bright purple, Harry glanced at Mrs Weasley and saw her wand arm twitching, she was clearly itching to join the fight. But she couldn't until either Mr Weasley was incapacitated or he called for her to take over. The only thing was, if Mr Weasley asked for her to take over, which would mean she'd have to take on both Mr Malfoy and his Second Crabbe.

Those were the rules.

"Get him dad!" Ron now roared as his father rolled on the ground and sent a leg locker jinx at Mr Malfoy, which caused the man's legs to snap together.

The blond man wobbled but he didn't quite fall and was able to a jet of fire at Mr Weasley, who dodged but still got a searing burn on his arm. Mr Weasley yelped slightly in pain but he wasn't down yet, he was pushing himself to his knees and waving his wand in a twirling gesture.

The next moment, Mr Malfoy's sleek blond hair had turned bright red with gold streaks. Mr Weasley smirked as the Gryffindors roared their approval while Slytherin's howled in mostly mock outrage. But Mr Malfoy's face had gone white with pure rage, and with a bang, the leg locker jink was taken off him and he was aiming a jet of black at Mr Weasley.

Both Hermione and Ginny shrieked, Ginny had wanted to see the man who'd hurt her pay. Mr Weasley's hastily thrown up shield was blasted apart and he was thrown backwards, twitching on the ground as tendrils of black oozed all over him. Harry had no idea what that was but was sure it was Dark Magic of some sort.

But just as Mr Malfoy looked ready to move in for the kill, hopefully not literally, Mr Weasley gasped out.

"Molly, you're on."

Molly Weasley surged forward, the air around her crackling with energy, making the strands of her tied up hair stand up. Mr Malfoy looked briefly worried but then he smirked and gestured for Crabbe to come forward and join the fight. But as the heavy man surged forward, she slashed her wand through the air and he was sent soaring backwards, landing heavily.

And before he could get up, she'd sent a full Body Bind at him, meaning it was just her and Mr Malfoy. He rolled to one side, the movement allowing him to get into a defensive crouch and start firing spell, after spell at her, no doubt hoping to overwhelm her. But none of them worked, she either dodge or deflected them, coming closer and closer to the edge of her platform.

Those who were close could see a note of fear in Malfoy's pale eyes but he still continued to try and fight. But nothing seemed to stop her, she was just kept coming at him. So, in an act of desperation, he sent the same jet of black at her that had taken down her husband.

But with a stab of her wand, she conjured a pure white shield right in front of herself, causing the black jet to ricochet in all directions, bouncing off the overhead protective shield. Mr Malfoy stood shocked, sure she wouldn't' be able to stop his curse. But his pause cost him as Molly pushed forward with her shield, sending it as a white ball straight at him.

It hit him straight in the stomach and blasted him backwards, making him slide all the way to the edge of the platform and keep going. He tried to stop himself but the blast had been too powerful, he went tumbling over the edge with a scream of terror.

Only to be caught by the referee's levitation charm so that he only fell about ten feet at most. There was a moment of silence as Molly stood at the edge of her platform, her chest heaving with emotion and exertion. And then a huge roar went up from all around the stadium as students jumped to their feet to cheer the heroine of the hour.

"She did it, she did it," Hermione screamed as she jumped up and down with Harry and Ron who were both shouting praise for Mrs Weasley.

The red haired woman was now bent over Mr Weasley who was weakly smiling up at her even as Madam Pomfrey was flying over to him. Thankfully, she was able to treat him although he'd need some bed rest, Mr Malfoy's curse had been vicious but not unknown.

Harry, Hermione and all the Weasleys were allowed to join the two elder Weasleys on the winner's platform as Mr Malfoy was brought over to them, looking beyond sour. He looked crumpled although Crabbe actually looked a little worse for wear. Mrs Weasley had not wanted him interfering in her revenge against Lucius Malfoy and he'd found that out the hard, painful way.

"As the loser, you will be required to pay compensation for losing this duel," the referee now told him sternly. "And as this duel has proved, you were in the wrong, now Molly and Arthur Weasley shall name your penance."

Malfoy just scowled before glaring at the could who stood firm.

"You tell him Molly dear," Mr Weasley said easily, happy to let her handle things.

"I'm going to give you two choices," she said in a stern tone. "The first one is that you give up your wand for a year..."

"A year?" he burst out in outrage.

"Not only that, but you will work in Muggle aid products for at least five days a week, although you can work more if you wish," Molly said coolly. "Furthermore, you shall set up a sponsorship for disadvantaged Muggleborn students."

Mr Malfoy stared at her for several moments before sneering.

"And the other option?"

"A sound paddling, every day for the next year," Molly said evenly causing all the kids to struggle not to laugh out loud.

Malfoy gaped, he honestly gaped in horror at her. With his mouth open, she added.

"And this won't be a set time, I'll come for you at any time I please, no matter who you're with, or what you're doing."

He closed his mouth, opened it and then shut it again, unable to form any words. She now said in a deadly tone.

"I should kill you for what you did but..."

She glanced over at where Draco was standing, looking angry and scared for his father.

"You have a young son and I won't deprive him of his father, no matter how deprived that father actually is."

"Well Lucius Malfoy?" the referee now asked after a few minutes of silence. "What is your decision?"

"The...the former," Malfoy said quietly, he was utterly defeated.

Molly looked mildly disappointed but still said.

"Arthur will oversee you're...charity work and if he feels you're planning anything...then you will receive a visit from me and my wooden spoon."

"Do something, do something," the twins chanted quietly behind their mother's back.

"I won't," Malfoy bit out, he really looked a bit scared of Molly now.

"Think he will?" Ron asked Harry eagerly.

"Maybe, at first," Harry whispered back. "But I have a feeling one session with your mum will be enough."

"Yeah," Ron said with a shrug before asking slyly.

"Think she'll let us watch?"

"I wouldn't think so," Hermione said with a small smile. "But...we can always hope."

"We sure can," Harry said softly and he wasn't just referring to that.

He hoped that Ginny could recover from all that had happened, he hoped Mr Malfoy could learn some sort of lesson and never try anything like that again. He hoped Ethelinda would be happy in her new home but above all, he hoped he and his friends remained as close as they had been this year for the rest of his life.

_Author's note. Hope you all enjoyed this little story arc, I certainly did. Consdiering Molly is the one who brought down Bellitrix LeStrange, I can see her as being a very skilled duellist, especially when a member of her family is threatened. Remember, I welcome suggestions for future stories._


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note. Big thanks to all those who have reviewed and enjoyed my little Chamber of Secrets story arc, I really enjoyed writing that. Also, thanks to those who have given me suggestions for little shorts, I will do my best to use them._

_This story is something that came to me the other day and I just had to write it._

_Enjoy and please review._

Harry groaned in his sleep and automatically lifted a hand in a swatting gesture. Something was pawing at his face, forcing him to start to wake up. Half asleep, he fought the impulse to be drawn into full consciousness but that was becoming steadily harder.

"MeoooOOW!"

"Urgh, alright," Harry moaned as something meowed very loudly in his ear while still pawing.

The young Gryffindor blearily opened his eyes, it had to be past midnight, to find a fuzzy orange ball hovering over him. He moaned, trying to wake up his brain a little more so he could deal with Crookshanks. At least, he assumed it was Crookshanks, it was hard to tell in the dark and without his glasses.

Thankfully, Crookshanks hadn't been sitting on his chest, just to the side of his pillow so Harry was able to grope around for his glasses. Once he'd slid them on and sleepily blinked a few times, he turned to Crookshanks.

"What is it?" he asked with a heavily sigh.

Before coming to Hogwarts, he wouldn't have talked to animals in such a way that they would probably answer. But he'd learned a lot over the past two and half years, encountering several animals that definitely understood him. And some could even answer back.

Crookshanks was one of those creatures that had an aura of being able to understand him, even though he was just a cat. Now that he had his glassed back on, Harry sat up to look questioningly into Crookshanks eyes. Ever since Scabbers disappearance, the ginger cat hadn't been inside their dorm but even before that, he had never woken any of the boys up before.

Right now, the orange cat was looking at him very intently, so intently that Harry actually thought he _would_ speak. But then suddenly, Crookshanks leapt off his bed and stared at the door before staring back at Harry. Staring at him, Harry was completely nonplussed, what was going on.

"Crookshanks," Harry groaned. "Come on, what's wrong?"

He could have sworn that Crookshanks rolled his eyes at that point but he'd probably imagined it. The next moment, Crookshanks had rushed over to his truck and started pawing at him while glancing over at Harry. The young boy sighed but since he was already awake, he might as well indulge Hermione's cat.

So he shoved back his covers, shivering slightly from the cold. Although the weather was steadily warming, the nights were still chilly. He hissed as his feet touched freezing cold floors and grabbed his slippers, more grateful than ever to Mrs Weasley who'd ensured he had proper footwear. Padding the few steps over to his trunk, he bent down and opened his truck.

The immediate objects were mostly socks, pants and other clothing articles. The only thing folded neatly was his cloak and just tucked inside, the Marauders Map. He honestly couldn't think what Crookshanks was wanting so sleepily asked.

"Okay, it's open, what now?"

Crookshanks stuck his head inside and grabbed hold of a corner of the Marauders Map. Before Harry could stop him, he'd tugged it free before dropping it on the floor. Harry gaped as Crookshanks placed a paw on the Map, now giving Harry a very intense look. And suddenly, Harry realised what Crookshanks had been after.

"You want me to activate the Map?" he asked softly as Crookshanks sat back and regarded him in a rather imperial fashion.

Harry smiled, what harm could it do?

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he whispered, touching the Map with his wand, he'd grabbed it after getting out of bed.

At first, as the castle formed, he couldn't see anything amiss. There were concentrated masses in four points of the castle, as there should be at this time of night. There were also a few dots here and there which where the teachers sleeping or possibly patrolling. And as Harry's eyes moved over the Map, it was suddenly drawn to a single dot labelled...

"Hermione!" Harry gasped, finally grasping what Crookshanks had wanted him to know. For whatever reason, Hermione was out of their dorm and roaming the castle and he needed to get to her before something happened.

Jumping to his feet with the Map clutched in his hand, he rushed over to Ron's bed and started shaking him awake. It took him a bit of time, Ron wasn't an easy person to wake but eventually, the red headed boy was groaning into consciousness. While Ron woke up, Harry started grabbing what they would need for their journey.

"Whazup Harry?" Ron grumbled, rubbing his eyes which had trouble staying open.

"Hermione's in trouble," Harry quickly said, causing Ron to sit up in shock.

"What, how?" he exclaimed and Harry said.

"I don't know but just know, Crookshanks got me to look at the Map and Hermione's wandering the corridor."

"But...?" Ron said, confused as he also slid out of bed to grab some things. "Why would she be out at this time of night, she never goes out unless we have to."

"I don't know," Harry said quietly as he pulled on his outer robe. "But there must be a good reason, especially if her cat came in to tell us."

"Yeah," Ron said, frowning at Crookshanks who was washing a paw.

As Ron hurriedly tried to grab his slippers and robe, he said.

"Do you think she's sleepwalking or something?"

"I don't know but that's a good explanation," Harry said thoughtfully, checking to see where Hermione was now. "If something happened, she wouldn't leave without telling us. The only reason she ever stays out late is to use the library but she'd wait until before breakfast to do that."

"Might be why that cat woke us up," Ron agreed with a nod. "I mean, why else would it bother?"

"Exactly," Harry stated as the two of them finally finished getting their stuff together and rushing for the spiralling staircase, the cat at their heels.

They found the Common Room deserted and only a few embers still burned in the fireplace. As usual, it was quite cluttered but they recognised some of Hermione's school work on a table. As they came closer, they saw it looked like she'd been in the middle of some homework, something she seemed have a never ending supply of.

Neither Harry nor Ron understood why she had taken on so much, it was clearly taking its toll on her. But she would hate to fail any class and even when they suggested dropping a couple of subject, she wouldn't listen. That didn't matter now, what mattered was finding her before Filch or Snape did. Harry wasn't sure which would be worse, Filch was undoubtedly horrible but Snape would just love to punish Hermione for rule breaking as she was what he called her 'A-Know-It-All'.

Harry only dimly noticed that Crookshanks wasn't followed them as they hurried to the Portrait Hole, ready with the Invisibility Cloak. As soon as the Portrait Hole was open, the two boys slipped under the Cloak and out of their Common Room. It was very cold out in the corridor and both boys were thankful for their slippers and outer robes.

Harry checked the Map as they walked, Hermione was heading towards a series of moving staircases. If she was sleepwalking, she was in the real danger of falling as the staircases happily did this while you were on them. Oddly, they didn't do that just as you stepping on or off but she wouldn't realised it had moved as she walked.

Now that they knew where she was, they rushed to the staircases, the cloak flapping wildly as they did so. Harry stowed the Map in his pocket, he couldn't keep looking at it as they ran. They did slow down when coming to a corner but they met no one and were able to continue on.

At long, long last, they reached the staircase and quickly peered over it. There, a few flights below them was Hermione who was slowly walking down a moonlit flight of stairs. She was walking much slower than usual and without a sense of purpose which served to confirm their suspicions. But just to be sure...

"Hermione," Ron hissed as loudly as he dared, the sound echoing in the empty room. But the girl didn't react, there was no flinch or turn of the head, she just continued walking.

Suddenly, one of the staircases right above the boys shifted before sliding into a new position and they realised the staircases were about to all start shifting. It was one reason you needed to know the castle well, if they all started moving, you needed to find a different route fast.

"Come on," Harry yelped, flinging off the cloak to aid their descent although he did wrap it around his shoulders quickly.

Ron didn't need telling twice as he bolted down with Harry, their footsteps very noisy. Harry was now sure Hermione was sleepwalking, no one could ignore the noise they were making. Even if they'd still been fighting, Hermione would still have reacted to their presence. He'd never heard of her sleepwalking before but with all the stress she'd been under, it wasn't very surprising.

"Hermione, wake up," Harry half called, half hissed before yelping as the staircase he was on started to move.

Having longer legs, Ron was able to leap for the landing, even as he called back.

"I don't think you're supposed to wake sleepwalkers."

"Well, we have to do something," Harry called back, clinging onto the staircase as it swung to a different landing.

"I'll try and move her somewhere safe," Ron called, resuming his running, praying the next staircase wouldn't start moving. Even as he did this, the one Hermione had just stepped off began to move, making him groan.

"Bloody hell," he cursed, he couldn't believe the situation they were in, yet again.

Harry was meanwhile torn between staying in case a staircase moved his way or leaving and trying to find another way to Hermione. He couldn't bear to leave in case something happened to he opted for waiting. As chance would have it, the staircase decided to move except it wasn't in the direction he wanted. So jumping onto it, he rushed to its edge and lunged at the one right below which was also moving.

"Oof," he gasped out, landing much heavier than he'd meant to and almost falling down the stairs. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt although his slippered feet hadn't enjoyed the hard contact with stair.

He clutched the side as the stair continued its downward journey to a new landing before gratefully getting off. Ron was still below him but only by one flight now and Harry quickly rushed over to a new staircase. He saw Ron taking another running leap to make it to a new one and found himself envying the other boy's long legs.

"I've almost got her," Ron called up as he managed to charge down two flights of stairs, rushing for the one Hermione was just stepping off.

"Bugger," Ron swore as the staircase moved before he could get to it and swinging round too fast for him to jump.

And now Hermione was heading for danger, the staircase ahead of her had just moved, she'd step off into space. Ron cursed again, there was no way he could get to her in time so he did the only thing he could think of.

"Windgardium Leviosa!"

Hermione rose a couple of feet into the air, her body still moving as though walking. Ron breathed a sigh of relief before realising he'd have to keep her there until either he or Harry could get down there. However, he was starting to notice it was a bit of a strain keeping Hermione suspended and he worriedly called up to Harry.

"Harry, can you get down here, I don't think I can hold her."

"I'm coming," Harry called back as he impatiently waited for a staircase to finish making its way towards him.

It had barely reached the landing before Harry was thundering down it and he was finally on level with Ron who was beginning to sweat. Harry pointed his wand at Hermione and repeated Ron's spell so that now the girl had two wands supporting her.

"Thanks," Ron said very gratefully, he'd begun to feel a little drained but now felt a lot better. "Let's hope the bloody stairs comes back."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, feeling the strain of lifting a heavy object. In class, they'd just practised with feather, holding a person in the air was a lot harder.

To their intense relief, a stair did come along and they were able to run down it while still keeping the spell active. Hermione actually seemed to have gone limp as though being levitated had lulled her into a natural sleep. So as they lowered their wands and Hermione's body followed the movement, she started to slump forward.

"Catch her," Harry said and they rushed forward and caught their friend before she could fall to the floor.

Once they had a good grip, they slowly sank to the floor, unable to believe what had just happened. As they panted heavily, Hermione mumbled and started to stir. Harry brushed some hair out of her face, knowing she hated having hair in her eyes. Ron blushed a little, he was at Hermione's back being stronger than Harry but he couldn't drop her while she was waking up.

"Mmm, wha...?" Hermione mumbled as she realised she wasn't in her bed.

"It's okay Hermione, we're here," Harry said softly to reassure her.

She opened her eyes, blinking in utter confusion at them.

"Harry, what...what's going on?"

"Hermione, you were sleepwalking," Harry explained as Hermione realised who was holding her and sat up, relieving Ron of his duty.

"Sleepwalking? But I've never," she exclaimed as Ron said.

"I'm afraid you were just now. You didn't look up when we called to you."

"I...I can't believe it," she said flustered as all three sat back to examine the situation.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Harry asked as Hermione considered it.

"Well, I was doing my Ancient Runes homework...then I was looking over my schedule, making sure I remembered when everything was...and...I think I dozed off."

"I think you were trying to get to class," Ron said suddenly after a moment's thought. "Your timetable is so crazy, you probably got confused and were trying to go."

"I don't believe it," she groaned, seeing no other explanation. "What am I going to do, I can't have this happening again."

"We'll think of something," Harry assured her but stopped as something prickled the back of his neck. He turned around, trying to see if anyone was watching them.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, spotting Harry's uneasy look.

"I think we should move," he replied quietly. "We don't know if anyone heard us, Filch could be along any moment."

Both his friends looked scared at that thought and they all scrambled to their feet. But now they were unsure of where they were going, the stairs had all changed into inconvenient positions. They would have to take a completely different route to get back to their Common Room.

"Let's get...," Harry began before stopping as he felt that prickling again. And this time, his friends seemed to pick up on it as they glanced around nervously.

"I...I hate to say this," Hermione whispered. "But...Sirius Black's already gotten in twice...and no one knows how..."

"So," Ron said in a slightly high voice. "He could be here right now...and we'd never know."

"Maybe it's Mrs Norris," Harry suggested uncertainly, knowing a teacher or Filch wouldn't' bother lurking, they'd already be yelling by now.

The kids stayed where they were, straining to hear anything that could give them a clue to who or what might be there. The silence stretched but it did nothing to calm their nerves, the castle was just too eerie at this time of the night. And then something in the inky blackness seemed to shift and they could swear they heard a slight clinking noise.

All three began to back away from the direction of the strange noise, their fear rising as well as their panic levels. It took what appeared to be the glint of eyes before they turned tail and ran for it. They had no idea where they were going, they just wanted to get away from whatever it was.

Only when they'd run down a few corridors, did Hermione cry shrilly.

"We need to hide somewhere."

"Lupin's office," Harry gasped back, his heart pounding wildly as he recognised where they were. "Let's go there."

Neither Ron nor Hermione argued and they charged straight for it. As they approached, all three whipped out their wands, Hermione had had hers all along and pointed them straight at the door of Professor Lupin's office. With a combined cry of 'Alohamora', they cast the spell which caused the door to shoot open and they rushed inside.

Once there, they slammed the door closed, not caring what might have been chasing them and locked it. Sighing with relief, they slumped against the door and slowly turned around. Like the moving staircases, the office was bathed in moonlight giving it a very eerie atmosphere. For a few, precious moments the three kids just panted heavily, trying to get their breath back before they realised that they were not alone.

A pair of glinting eyes was watching them from the other side of the room, next to the fireplace where a small fire still burned. Behind those eyes was a huge, hulking form, lined with slightly shaggy brown fur. The creature lifted its head to regard them and that's when they realised it was a wolf.

But not just any wolf as Harry's heart gave a very painful thump and Hermione squeaked a little in terror, a werewolf. No normal wolf could be almost the size of a lioness or look at them with such cold intelligence. Snape's lesson on werewolves rushed through Harry's mind, how berserk they would go at catching a human scent, how they would tear anything in their way to pieces.

Ron was trembling beside him while Hermione was doing a very good impression of a statue and he himself could barely move. The werewolf's muzzle seemed to twitch and then it started to inhale, panting as it absorbed their scent. They didn't react, it felt like any movement could provoke the werewolf into an attack. The seconds dragged on as the werewolf continued to breathe in their scent and the trio braced themselves for an attack.

Harry had never felt so scared in his life, not even Voldemort or those spiders compared to how he felt now. The werewolf suddenly shifted and they all flinched but to their utter shock, all the werewolf did was lower its head back onto its paws. And was it Harry's imagination or did the werewolf look very...sad.

"I...I don't think," Hermione said in a rather high pitched tone of voice. "H-he won't hurt us Harry, Ron."

"But...he's a werewolf," Ron said in disbelief although he also sounded uncertain. "They can't help but attack people."

But Harry continued looking at the werewolf and he was really starting to believe Hermione's words. No normal werewolf would just stay there staring at them and it definitely wouldn't be that calm. However, it did occur to him there must be a reason why they weren't being attacked.

"I...I heard of a potion," Hermione replied to Ron's last words. "It...it helps the werewolf keep their mind so they're not a danger to anyone. Professor Lupin won't hurt us."

"Lupin?" both Harry and Ron yelped together as the werewolf covered his face with his paws.

"How do you know?" Harry exclaimed even as it occurred to him that this was Lupin's office.

"Snape's essay," she said softly, gazing sadly at the forlorn werewolf. "That got me thinking; I looked up the lunar chart and saw that Professor Lupin was always ill in the full moon. And there's his Boggart, it's of the moon, not a glass ball. And really...he fits all the symptoms."

"Bloody hell," Ron exclaimed, rubbing a hand over his rather damp hair, as Harry noticed just how much sweat he himself had. "That's why he wasn't in the Hospital Wing when I had to clean. He must have been in here."

"And that potion Snape gave him," Harry added with a nod. "He must make it for Professor Lupin to take, to keep him safe."

They all stared at each other for a moment before Ron said.

"Bloody hell."

"Yeah," Harry said with a rather shaky laugh before it occurred to him that Lupin might still be able to understand them.

"Um...Professor?" he tried gently, a little breathlessly as his heart was still pounding.

The werewolf peered out at them between his paws and whimpered slightly. Feeling a bit braver, Harry asked.

"You're not going to hurt us, are you Professor?"

The werewolf, or as he really was, Lupin, made a whining sound. The trio relaxed a lot more now that they knew that Lupin wasn't going to attack him. In fact, they felt brave enough to peel themselves off the door. Lupin really was a massive creature but he was currently lying down so he wasn't quite as threatening as he normally would be.

"Does it hurt?" Ron blurted out as Lupin continued to look at them in a very mournful fashion.

Lupin made a movement that looked like a shrug, his huge shoulders shifted anyway. They figured that at the moment he wasn't in any pain but didn't mean he hadn't been. Harry glanced at his friends before making the decision to move a bit closer. Lupin didn't move but watched as Harry and then his friends crept a bit closer.

Gathering his courage, Harry bent down and offered Lupin his hand. Lupin stared for a moment before raising his massive head and snuffling Harry's hand. Harry smiled down at him and as Lupin drew his head back slightly, reached up to pat the wolf head. The trio jumped as they heard a thumping noise but realised it was Lupin's tail wagging against the floor.

"I don't believe this," muttered Ron as he now reached forward to pat Lupin's head. He had been brought up on stories of how dangerous werewolves were and how he should never, ever wander from the Burrow on a full moon. But here he was, patting a full grown werewolf on the night of the full moon. It was certainly never a dull moment here at Hogwarts and with his two best friends.

Spotting Lupin's still sad look, Hermione quickly said.

"You're still our favourite teacher, Professor."

"Yeah, you're a hundred times better than Lockhart or Quirrell," Ron piped up hotly, remembering what the previous Defence teachers had tried to do.

Lupin couldn't smile but his bright yellow eyes took on a much less haunted look and he laid his head back on his paws. The trio slowly settled beside him, he was large enough for them to rest against him. Harry was on one side while his friends on the other and they leaned against the warm fur which exhaled in and out.

"Will you be able to remember this?" Harry asked and Lupin turned and gave a very short nod.

"It's not their fault, Professor," Hermione said quickly. "I was sleepwalking, they came and rescued me and then we got a bit scared and we thought this would be the safest place to be."

"We um, didn't think we'd find anything here," Ron mumbled. "We were just going to stay here until it was safe to go back outside."

"So, can we stay here, sir?" Harry asked, he'd rather snuggle up to this wolf than go back into the dark corridor. Even if Black wasn't about, he didn't fancy running into Filch or Mrs Norris. Sometimes, he wondered when exactly Filch slept, he always seemed to be creeping about the place.

Lupin turned and gave Harry a little nuzzle which the young Gryffindor took to mean yes. He grinned, this was much better than sleeping in a cold classroom. With both Lupin and the still burning fire, they'd be fine. Hermione actually leaned over and whispered a spell, causing blue flames to erupt in the fireplace, helping to keep the blaze going.

As the kids prepared for sleep, Lupin yawned, revealing long dagger like teeth which reminded them that he was a dangerous animal is aroused. Hermione was stroking his back gently, hoping this would relax the large wolf and it seemed to work. Despite how calm the werewolf was, they couldn't help but feel sorry for their favourite Professor.

He always looked so ill and being a werewolf clearly wasn't good for one's career if the state of his robes was anything to go by. They realised that there truly was discrimination in the wizarding world that went beyond simply who had the purest blood. It was very humbling to know that they wouldn't experience that, they wouldn't have to suffer what Lupin had suffered, baring a werewolf attack.

"We won't tell, will we?" Hermione prompted and both boys hastened to assure Lupin they wouldn't.

"Never," Ron said fiercely. "We don't want you to ever leave."

"Definitely not," Harry said firmly causing Lupin to turn and nuzzle all three of them. He was careful not to open his mouth, perhaps wary of somehow contaminating them even though only a werewolf bite was dangerous. Claws could also cause damage but would not transform them.

They had no idea how long they half dozed next to their Professor, but the fire had burned down even lower by the time there was a sharp knock on the door. They all jumped but were so sleepily they couldn't react properly as a waspish voice called out.

"Lupin, I have a potion for you and I'm coming in. If you ever think of moving, I will use your flea bitten hide for a new carpet."

Lupin made a huffing sound but didn't move from his position. The kids tried to struggle up and maybe hide but their limbs were weak from lack of sleep and they just succeeded in falling back against Lupin who seemed to barely notice. They couldn't get away as Snape charmed the door open and strode in, sneer firmly in place.

The sneer died on his face as his eyes found them and took on an expression of petrified horror. His mouth was open and he gaped as three of his students nervously gazed back from position around the werewolf who had lifted his head slightly, breathing in the new scent. Snape was holding a smoking goblet and it was something of a miracle that he hadn't dropped it yet.

"We...we can explain," Hermione said rather bravely in Harry's opinion. "We really can, sir."

Snape's face twitched as he almost automatically placed the goblet on a table he happened to be next to and Harry knew that the explosion would soon be coming. Sure enough, Snape's shocked look soon morphed into one of pure anger. The trio decided that it was much safer facing a werewolf than an angry Snape and tried to look as small as possible.

"What...do...you...think...you...three...are...doing?" Snape hissed in a carrying voice as Lupin's ears flattened.

"That is a werewolf," he added, pointing for emphasis at Lupin who seemed very resigned now. "Have you any idea what he could do to you?"

"But he's safe at the moment," Ron couldn't help but point out.

One thing about Snape was, you should never try to argue a point with him.

"And did you know that before you barged in there," Snape half roared, it was amazing how he could do this quietly.

"Well, we didn't know Professor Lupin was in here," began Harry but Snape wasn't listening, he was striding over.

Lupin gave a slight warning growl but Snape just shot him a furious glare. Since Harry was nearest, he grabbed him and hauled him to his feet before shoving him in the direction of the door. Hermione and Ron quickly scrambled to their feet, helped by a little nudge from Lupin. Angrily, Snape began chivvying them towards the door, as they shot regretful looks back at the sad looking wolf.

"Drink this," Snape snapped, grabbing the still smoking goblet and placing it in front of Lupin who sniffed it distastefully. "And next time, Poppy can see to you, wolf."

Lupin gave a small bark before turning his nose up at the goblet. Snape was not amused.

"If you want to teach today, you will drink that and be grateful I even bothered making and bringing it along."

Lupin made a noise that sounded like a sigh but leaned forward and started to lap up the potion. The trio shivered at the growls he was making as they shuffled out of the door, wishing they were still inside the warm office. The corridor was very chilly and what they were wearing didn't help.

A moment later, Snape had come out as well and slammed the door behind him, locking it with a stab of his wand. He then swirled round to glare at his sheepish looking students. He actually seemed a bit too angry to even scold them although this would likely change and very soon. For now, he just seemed content to grab Harry's arm and start dragging him along with the others following.

Harry mentally sighed, this was of course his fault. He knew it had been his idea to go after Hermione but if Crookshanks had woken up Ron and shown him the Map, he'd have dragged along Harry anyway. He hoped Hermione wasn't going to get into trouble, she couldn't help sleep walking.

"Please sir," Hermione called, trying to keep up with Snape's long strides. "It's not Harry's fault, it's mine."

"I am not interested in excuses Miss Granger," Snape replied, his voice icy cold but at least he appeared to have calmed down a little

Harry sent Hermione a 'Thanks for trying' look and resigned himself for a long lecture about arrogance from Snape. But as he was dragged along, Ron suddenly asked.

"Sir, where are we going?"

"To the Hospital Wing," Snape snapped back. "To ensure you haven't caught anything off that wolf."

"But how could we?" Hermione asked as Ron and Harry scowled at the insult to their favourite teacher. "Only a werewolf's teeth and claws can cause ill effects, I've never read anything about a werewolf's fur doing anything."

"Miss Granger, whose is the teacher?"

"Well, you are sir but...," Hermione began only to be cut off by Snape.

"Remember that," he stated coldly before picking up the pace so that the Third year students had to practically jog to keep up with him. As they walked, Snape suddenly muttered something under his breath and a slivery form shot out of it and sped away. Harry recognised it as a Patronus but couldn't think why Snape was conjuring one.

But he didn't dare ask and they all continued towards the Hospital Wing. Once there were inside, Snape let go of Harry's arm and ordered all three to get into bed. They did so while he went to Madam Promfrey's office, her quarters were attached to it. The trio glanced at each other as they pulled the covers over themselves, wondering what was going to happen.

Surely they wouldn't' be expelled? Probably not but a lot of points could be lost and very likely several detentions. Harry couldn't have seen what they could have done differently, they had to rescue Hermione and then they'd gone to a Professor's office. It wasn't their fault that office just happened to contain a werewolf.

They didn't have much time to ponder as within a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey came bustling out in a hastily thrown on dressing gown and a grim looking Snape. She sighed in exasperation when she saw who the three students were.

"Not you three _again,"_ she exclaimed, coming over and pulling out her wand.

"Sorry," they all muttered as she waved her wand over them.

"There just seems to be a few bumps and bruises," she mumbled to herself with a frown. But before she could say more, the fireplace roared and Professor McGonagall stepped out, a frown present on her face.

"What is going on?" she demanded, striding over, her tartan dressing gown flapping slightly.

"Exactly what I want to know," Snape stated grimly, folding his arms and glaring at the trio.

"It's my fault, Professor," Hermione said a small voice. "You see, I was sleepwalking and Harry and Ron came to rescue me..."

"Sleepwalking?" McGonagall repeated.

"Yes Professor," Hermione said sadly. "I...the last thing I remember was doing my homework and then...I woke up in the middle of the moving staircase area, Harry and Ron said they saw me walking. And I didn't respond to their calls so that's the only explanation I can think of."

As McGonagall pursed her lips, Ron spoke up.

"We told you your taking too many classes, drop Divanation, you hate the bloody subject."

Hermione bit her lip, looking unsure as Harry said.

"I think you'd be happier not taking that class."

"Never mind that," Snape cut in. "Just how did you then end up in Lupin's office?"

"Lupin's office?" McGonagall repeated fainting, gaping openly at her three students.

"Yeah, we...um," Harry began a bit uncertainly. "Once we'd woken Hermione up, we thought it would be a good idea to get out of there and since Professor Lupin's office was closet, we'd go there."

"We figured that it was safest in case Black was about," Ron quickly defended as the three adults stared at them. "We couldn't get back up those stairs, they'd completely moved."

"Is that where you got your bruises?" demanded Madam Pomfrey and Ron nodded.

"Yeah, we were worried about Hermione falling," Ron explained as McGonagall asked.

"But how did you know Miss Granger was outside in the first place?"

"Crookshanks," Harry said simply. "Hermione's cat, woke me up and let me know something was wrong. I woke up Ron and with Crookshanks, we went looking for Hermione."

He looked at his Head of House as he said this, Snape always seemed to know when he was lying. He continued with his story, explaining that Crookshanks had led them to Hermione although he had disappeared when they'd rushed to make sure she didn't fall off a stair. But when he got to the bit where they'd woken their friend up, he faltered a bit.

In the safe Hospital Wing, he felt a little silly for getting scared. Normally, he'd be more inclined to stay and find out what had happened but somehow, the fear that they could get caught had coupled with the unknown fear. As much as he hated Sirius Black, he did not want his friends getting mixed up with him.

"Did you see something?" McGonagall asked sharply but the trio shrugged.

"We're not sure, Professor," Hermione said slowly. "It...it felt like something was there and we thought we could hear something but we never actually saw anything. We just thought it would be a good idea to make our way to a Professor's office."

"Hmm," McGonagall said thoughtfully, eying them beadily. "I suppose your logic was sound..."

"Sound? Minerva, they ran straight into a werewolf's clutches?" Snape protested.

"But we didn't know he was a werewolf," Ron spoke up hotly. "How were we to know it wasn't a good idea to go there?"

"You couldn't have known," McGonagall admitted with a sigh. "And in the present circumstances was probably the most sensible thing do to."

"Was Professor Lupin alright with you?" Madam Pomfrey abruptly asked them.

"He was fine," Harry reassured her. "I think he was just a little surprised to see us but he just sort of sniffed at us and then settled down again."

"And he seemed to understand what we were saying?" Hermione cut in eagerly. "We asked if he was safe and we promised him we weren't scared."

Snape made a sound of disbelief but the other two adults ignored him. McGonagall now said.

"Well, I'm glad you managed to establish that with Professor Lupin, he would have been extremely worried otherwise."

"We're not going to squeal on him," Ron assured her hotly. "He's the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had."

"Really?" sneered Snape as Harry said.

"Come on sir, he's way better than Quirrell or Lockhart, you have to admit that."

Snape just sneered again but he also inclined his head slightly. Yes, next to those two idiots, Lupin was...alright.

"Professor Lupin won't get in trouble, will he?" Hermione asked anxiously.

Their Head of House shook her head.

"As none of you were hurt and Professor Lupin was completely safe, there is no reason anyone other than the Headmaster needs to know about this," she assured them and they beamed in relief.

"Remind us how you knew Miss Granger was...sleepwalking?" Snape suddenly said icily as though he didn't believe a word of their story.

"Crookshanks told us," Harry said before realising how silly that sounded.

"A cat told you?" Snape repeated in a sneeringly flat tone.

"He is a rather intelligent animal if a bit familiar," McGonagall defended.

"What do you mean, Professor?" Hermione asked curiously as Madam Pomfrey continued fussing over them.

"Let's just say he believes himself to be the Casanova of cats," their Head responded with an amused smile.

"You can understand him?" Hermione said in awe and McGonagall said.

"Only in my cat form but he is a rather intelligent specimen although his taste is a little questionable. I've seen him following Mrs Norris a few times."

"Blimey," Ron exclaimed, looking half disgusted, half amazed. "Looks like you might have a few kittens soon Hermione."

"I always wanted a kitten," the girl admitted with a small smile.

Snape suddenly coughed and McGonagall grew serious again.

"As you three know, wandering the corridors is strictly forbidden, especially in the present climate. Which means at the very least loss of points and detention."

The three kids nodded miserably, bracing themselves for the worst.

"However," McGonagall continued. "Sleepwalking is something beyond our control and as you two boys acted to ensure that no harm came to your friend, as well as heading for the safety for a Professor's office, I won't punish you."

"Minerva, surely, they deserve something?" Snape demanded as Hermione looked relived and the boys gleeful.

"They did their best to act sensibly," she countered. "They had no idea what kind of situation Miss Granger was in. Because they did technically break rules, I shall not reward them any points but nor will I take any away."

Snape looked utterly disgusted and shot Harry a very annoyed look as though this was his entire fault. Harry tried not to look to pleased with the situation but it wasn't easy. Hermione now asked.

"Will Professor Lupin be okay?"

"As long as he took his Potion, yes," Madam Pomfrey said kindly, she seemed satisfied that no one was badly hurt. "Merlin but it's been a godsend that potion, I remember how ill he was in school..."

"How long has he been a werewolf?" Ron asked in astonishment, he'd sort of been thinking that Professor Lupin might have been bitten in the last few years while travelling. He'd mentioned in a class that he'd travelled quite far and wide in the last decade.

"Ever since he was a small child," Madam Pomfrey replied sorrowfully. "He was bitten by a truly monstrous werewolf named Greyback."

This name didn't mean anything to Harry and nor did it seem to for Hermione but Ron frowned.

"Huh, that name rings a bell," he said slowly.

"Perhaps because your parents have warned you against going out on a full moon?" Snape suggested. "Greyback is notorious for both embracing the werewolf curse, he thinks of it as a gift and for his...obsession with biting children."

"He tries to bite kids?" Harry exclaimed, utterly shocked.

"He does," Snape nodded. "Over seventy percent of known werewolf attacks in this country are by him, the number is probably higher. And if he can, he will then kidnap his victim and raise them as a vicious killer."

All three Gryffindor students looked utterly disgusted with that fact and knew that while Lupin might be kind man, there were still very dangerous werewolves out there. It was a very humbling thought as they realised what their teacher must have put up with if some of his kind were true monsters. Harry now said.

"But Greyback didn't take Professor Lupin, did he?"

"No, Professor Lupin's parents were both magical so they were able to protect him," McGonagall said quietly. "I'm afraid most of the children that are snatched are Muggle children. Their parents do not know what has taken them so it is often too late by the time the Ministry gets wind of the attack."

There was a grave silence after this little speech as everyone imagined the horror that those poor children must have gone through. Ron was the first one to speak.

"If Professor Lupin was really young when he was bitten, how was he able to come to Hogwarts? Or was he tortured at home?"

"Professor Dumbledore allowed him to come," McGonagall confirmed with a small smile. "Professor Lupin was only dangerous once a month so as long as he was in a safe place during that time, Dumbledore saw no reason why he couldn't attend as a normal student."

Snape had a slightly grumpy look on his face at this but no one was paying attention as Hermione said.

"But the Potion hadn't been invented then, had it?"

"No," Madam Pomfrey said heavily. "I'm afraid it hadn't been. Remus had to suffer many painful nights that left him very ill afterwards. That is why I am so grateful to Severus."

She nodded towards Snape who shrugged but was also smiling in a not so modest way. Still smirking, he remarked.

"Why is it that out of all the students in this castle, it is you three who find out this information?"

"Because trouble always goes looking for me," Harry replied with a heavy sigh, his Potions teacher did have a point.

"Well, never mind," McGonagall said with a small sigh of her on. "At least you three are unhurt and can spend the rest of the night here, safe and sound. No one will be able to get in here after we leave."

The three of them nodded gratefully, too tired to protest. Their Head now said briskly.

"We will talk more after breakfast, we don't want this happening again."

Hermione smiled very ruefully.

"And I imagine that Professor Lupin will want to see you as well," McGonagall continued. "Thankfully, today is Saturday so we don't have to worry about classes."

This caused Hermione to blush, she'd worked herself up for nothing. She'd just been so frantic to keep on top of everything, she couldn't stand the idea of doing it at the last moment. She didn't just regurgitate what she'd learned, she liked to be able to think about the essay question and how best to answer it.

"Get some sleep now," she told them, only half sternly before turning to Snape. "Thank you for bringing them here Severus and for calling me."

"It was no problem, Minerva," he replied smoothly, looking a little calmer. "I assume that Lupin will be giving them a good talking to."

"I'm sure he will," she replied, her lips twitching slightly as she bid her students good morning before sweeping out of the Hospital Wing.

Snape gave them all a searching, stern look as though trying to work out if they were going to break any more rules before nodding and also sweeping away. Madam Pomfrey now came over with three steaming mugs of what smelled like hot chocolate.

"These will ensure you sleep well," she told them, handing a mug to each of them. "It had a little bit of calming draft in it to counteract any lingering nervousness you may be experiencing."

They thanked her before drinking deeply. The drink was delicious and they found themselves relaxing very quickly. One by one, they started to drift off to sleep but not before Ron had mumbled.

"What monster are we going to run across next year?"

_Author's note. I'm probably going to continue this little story arc but I'm not sure how far. It should be noted that in the fourth book, Voldemort said how rats had told Wormtail how to find him which suggests to me that Animagi can understand animals of the same species. So, I think that McGonagall would be able to understand cats. That's just my theory though._


End file.
